Two Against The World
by Heavenly Azure
Summary: Daryl: "I'm not asking you to marry me. I'm just offering you the chance to have some fun." I had told Lori and Carol that if I had a man waiting for me, I would have taken a shower with him. Daryl Dixon was standing in front of me, offering to do anything I wanted.
1. Are You A Survivor?

**Chapter One: Are You A Survivor?**

It was the first deer I had seen in weeks, but it would have to wait. Somewhere in the growth below the tree I was perched in, I heard the moaning of a walker. I squinted. If I could just see through the foliage, I would be able to shoot the walker through its head without having to give up my position. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it out through the leaves.

"Damnit." I muttered to myself, swinging my crossbow onto my back.

I started down the tree, carefully choosing where I would set my feet down. The last thing I needed was to be grabbed by a walker with both of my hands gripping the tree. I lowered myself down onto a spot where the growth wasn't as thick. Once my feet touched the ground, I whipped out my crossbow again.

From behind me, I heard rustling. I turned just in time to see the deer run off.

"Damnit."

Just as I swore, I heard the moaning again. I turned back around, aiming my crossbow at the foliage surrounding the tree. I cautiously stepped forward at the same time I saw a hand suddenly reach out from the leaves. It gripped the grass loosely for a moment before the fingers relaxed. I peered at it curiously. The flesh of the hand looked healthy and intact. If it was a walker, I figured it had recently turned.

"If you aren't a walker, you better speak up now. Otherwise, I have an arrow for your head."

A second hand reached out of the growth to join the first. The flesh on that hand looked just as healthy as the first. I was starting to doubt that it was a walker moaning in the foliage.

"W-Wait…" A weak voice came from within the leaves.

"Oh what the hell?"

I put my crossbow away as I started towards the pair of hands. I grabbed hold of them and pulled. Out of the growth came a young woman. There were countless leaves and twigs tangled in her light brown hair. Her skin was covered in scrapes and scratches.

I let go of the young woman quickly, and took two steps back.

"Were you bitten? Were you scratched?"

The young woman moaned again before she slowly picked up her head to look at me. There was an old cut on her cheek that was caked in dirt and dry blood.

"No." She answered, lifting a shaky hand to me. "Please help me."

"Help you with what?"

She looked up at me with tired eyes for a moment before laying her head back down.

"…just…forget it."

I studied the young woman. From the looks of the state of her hair and the scrapes on her face and body, I guessed that she had been running through the woods.

I turned my head in the direction that the deer had run. If I went after it soon, I would be able to track it down again. That would mean venison for dinner. Our camp had been living off of the fish the two blonde girls caught and my rodents. Venison would be a welcome change.

If I took the time to take the young woman back to camp, I might not be able to track the deer. Besides, I wasn't sure that she hadn't been bitten or scratched. She could have lied. I wasn't about to bring a walker back to camp.

With a sigh, I got down on my knees. I placed a hand on the young woman's back, shaking her.

"Hello? Are you awake?"

When she didn't respond, I figured she had lapsed into unconsciousness.

"Damnit."

I rolled the woman onto her back. Her eyes were closed. She was still visibly breathing. I lifted both of her arms and looked them over. Most of the scrapes were superficial. Her clothing hadn't been ripped or torn in any way to suggest that she was bitten or scratched by a walker. The more serious cuts she did have were too clean to have come from being clawed at by a walker. She had told me the truth.

"Well, this is your lucky day." I told the unconscious woman.

I lifted her up easily, and threw her over my shoulder. She was light to carry. With one arm around her legs, and the other free to get at my crossbow, I headed in the direction of camp.

As I approached, I heard several of the men from camp talking. When I broke through the trees, I came face to face with Shane's shotgun. I only noticed it for a moment though, because my eyes were drawn to the deer carcass on the ground. It had been mauled by a walker, whose head was smashed in only a few feet away.

"Son of a bitch. That's my deer." I walked up on the deer, looking mournfully down at its half-eaten corpse. "Look at it, all gnawed up on by this filthy, disease bearing, motherless, poxy bastard!"

I was suddenly very angry with myself for having stopped to grab the young woman. If I had followed the deer, I might have taken it down before the walker got to it.

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale said to me as I finished kicking the walker.

"What do you know about it, old man?" I stepped over the deer towards him. "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to _On Golden Pond_?"

I lifted the young woman off of my shoulder, and let her unconscious form fall to the ground. All I cared about was the loss of the deer as I leaned over it, inspecting the bite marks and the organs spilling out of the gut.

"What do you think? Do you think we can cut around-"

"Daryl, who is this woman?" Dale asked, already on his knees beside her body.

Everyone, who had been too consumed with the walker attack and the dead deer, seemed to finally notice the young woman. The two blonde girls rushed over to kneel down beside Dale, who was checking the young woman's scrapes and scratches.

"Daryl?" Shane asked, glancing from the woman to me.

"I found her out in the woods. I thought she was a walker." I shook my head, taking the dead squirrels from around my neck. "Damnit. If it wasn't for that moaning bitch, I would have tracked that deer and we would've all had venison tonight. I got some squirrels, about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

"Well-"

Just as one of the blondes started to talk, the walker's head suddenly started moving. He gnashed his bloody teeth while his head moved around on the ground.

"Come on, people. What the hell?" I quickly used my crossbow to put an arrow through the eye. The blonde girls looked on, disgusted, as I pulled the arrow from the walker's eye. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't ya'll know nothing?"

I looked at the only person I didn't recognize. He hadn't been at camp. I guessed that he must have arrived while I was out hunting. He returned my stare, but I wasn't interested in knowing his name or learning his story. I looked away from him as I started towards the campsite.

"Merle!"

0o0o0

_. "Please help me."_

_ "Help you with what?"_

_ "…just…forget it."_

When I woke up, I was laying on a bed. I hadn't slept in a bed in weeks. Having gone without the luxury of something as simple as a bed made me very appreciative of the one I found myself in currently. I burrowed my head into the pillow, and sighed.

"Oh, good, you're awake."

I sat up a little too quickly, and immediately felt dizzy. I covered my forehead with my hand.

"Why don't you lie back down? You're still very dehydrated."

An old man came into view. He looked as though he could have been a normal, everyday man out on a fishing trip. The normalcy of his physical appearance was soothing.

"I brought you water. Try not to drink it too fast. You don't want it coming right back up."

The old man handed me a canteen. The heaviness of it excited me. I had gone without a substantial amount of water for several days before passing out in the woods. I wanted to gulp down the contents of the canteen in one swallow, but was careful to do as the old man said.

"Thank you." I told the old man gratefully when I had taken many liberal sips.

"You're quite welcome." The old man leaned against the wall. "My name is Dale."

"My name is Cheyenne." I held out my hand to Dale.

Dale smiled as he placed his hand in mine, and gave it a gentle shake.

"I haven't done that in a long time." He said with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Dale, where exactly am I?" I asked, slowly sitting up against the pillow.

"This is my RV." Dale replied, arms out to the side.

"Where is this RV located?"

"At a campsite of survivors just outside of the city."

I breathed out as I sat up to take another drink of water. I had run through the woods for many days, and had no idea that I had traveled as far as I did.

"Well, why don't you take it easy while you finish your water? When you feel like you're up to it, come on outside. The girls have all gone to the quarry to do laundry and some of the men have gone to the city on a search and rescue mission."

"Search and rescue?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I'll explain it all to you when you come outside. I'll be tinkering with the RV. My radiator hose has seen better days."

I smiled as Dale exited the RV.

As I slowly sipped on the rest of my water, I wondered if the man who had rescued me from the woods was part of the search party in the city. I wasn't even sure if he _had_ rescued me. I vaguely remembered our exchange, and he hadn't seemed keen on helping me. I wondered if he decided to help me after all, or if someone else from the campsite had come across me in the woods.

My thoughts started to wander towards the possibility that the man from the woods wasn't part of the survivors' camp. I decided to find out.

I got out of the bed and went into the small bathroom. I turned on the faucet, and began to wipe away the dirt and dry blood on my face, hands, and arms. I looked at myself in the mirror above the sink. My cheeks were terribly sunken in. If I were any paler, and if my dark circles were any darker, I could have passed for one of the undead.

There were several leaves and other bits and pieces of nature stuck in my tangled hair. I carefully picked the twigs and leaves out of my hair. When I was unable to find a brush or a comb, I used my fingers to untangle my hair. I ended up pulling out several strands of hair in the process.

I fished through my jeans pockets, hoping to find a hair tie. Luckily for me, due to the length of my hair, I almost always had at least one hair tie on my person. I quickly plaited my hair into a single braid, and secured it with my found hair tie.

When I was finished freshening up, I took Dale's canteen and went outside. Just as he said, he was working at the front of the RV with a middle aged man in a baseball cap.

"Cheyenne, this is Jim. Jim, Cheyenne." Dale introduced us when he noticed me approach.

"It's good to meet you, Jim." I said with a smile, offering him my hand.

"Yeah. It's good to meet you." Jim replied, shaking my hand once.

"Thank you for the water, Dale, and for letting me rest in your RV. I'm already feeling better." I said, handing Dale his canteen.

"When the girls get back, you can come with me to fetch water." Dale turned to Jim. "You better get back on watch. We need to be diligent after the encounter today."

"Encounter?" I asked, watching Jim head inside of the RV.

"A walker was found just a few yards from camp. It's the first time one has wandered this far out of the city." Dale explained, rummaging through his tool box.

"A walker?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh…you know…one of the infected people."

"One of the undead." I murmured, leaning against the RV.

"Yes."

"Dale?"

"Hmm?"

"There was a man who found me in the woods. He and I barely spoke before I passed out. I don't know if you know him-"

"Daryl. His name is Daryl Dixon." Dale interrupted, shaking his head.

"What is it, Dale? Is it something about Daryl?"

"Daryl and his brother, Merle, are part of our camp. They're both hotheaded and stubborn."

"If they're so horrible, why do you allow them to stay at your camp?"

"Well, Merle and Daryl are very gifted hunters and trackers." Dale sighed, and pulled his hands out of the radiator. "I really believe that Daryl could be different, if only he got out from underneath his older brother's thumb…though now, he might just have that chance."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, the search and rescue mission I told you about? Merle is the man that's in need of rescuing."

"What happened to him?"

"A group of our people went into the city to scavenge for supplies. Apparently, a fight broke out between Merle and another man, T-Dog. From what I understand, Merle ended up handcuffed to a pipe on the roof."

"You mean…the group just left him there?" I asked, surprised.

"…yes."

Though I hadn't really considered the possibility of staying with the survivors, after hearing Dale's story, I was starting to doubt whether I should. Even if Merle started a fight or two, that didn't seem like a good enough reason to leave him for dead. I wanted to believe that there was more to the story, that there was history regarding Merle that I just didn't understand.

I stayed with Dale while he worked on his RV. I learned that he once had a wife, Irma. Unfortunately, she had died of cancer before she and Dale were able to see the country in their RV. Though he had no children, he thought of two of the women in the group, Andrea and Amy, as his surrogate daughters.

"What about you, Cheyenne? What can you tell me about yourself?" Dale asked, wiping his hands off on a cut up T-shirt.

"I-"

"Dale!"

Dale and I both turned to see what was going on. A dark haired man was pulling a fallen man by the leg into the campsite. Three women trailed closely behind. One of them was sobbing uncontrollably in between the other two women, who appeared to be holding her up.

Though I didn't know any of them, I immediately followed Dale to help.

"What happened?" Dale asked worriedly, approaching the dark haired man.

"Ask them." The dark haired man answered roughly, releasing the fallen man's leg.

"Shane?" Dale turned as Shane walked away. "Shane!"

"Let him go, Dale. We…we've all had quite a bit of a shock." One woman said.

"What happened to Ed?" Dale asked, turning to the three women. "Carol?"

The sobbing woman began falling to her knees. The two women on either side of her slowed her fall.

"Amy, help Carol into the RV. She needs to lie down." The woman who had spoken to Dale before turned towards me. "Can you help her?"

"Of course." I replied quickly.

"Dale, will you help me with Ed?"

I went to Amy, and helped Carol to her feet. Her head lulled against my shoulder as Amy and I helped her towards the RV. Carol's tears soaked through my flannel shirt. I could feel them on my neck.

"It's all going to be okay." I murmured soothingly to Carol.

"Ed…" She choked out between sobs. "Ed…"

Amy and I helped Carol onto the RV. Once we were inside, we laid Carol down on the bed. Her sobbing had quieted, but she was still hyperventilating. A thin layer of sweat had form on her face. She was visibly shaking.

"Amy, I think that Carol is going into shock." I said, low enough for only Amy to hear.

"What should we do?" Amy asked, glancing from Carol to me.

"Will you find water for her?"

"Sure."

I took the second pillow from the bed, and lifted Carol's legs high enough to use the pillow to elevate her feet slightly. Though her shirt was loose fitting, I undid the buttons on it.

"Carol? Carol, you need to take deep breaths. You need to breathe slowly." I told Carol gently, running my fingers through her short, silver hair. "Just close your eyes and take nice, deep breaths."

"Ed-"

"Shh. Don't worry about Ed right now. Dale and the others are taking care of him." I reassured her.

"Shane…"

"Do you want me to get Shane?"

"No." Carol replied quickly, her eyes wide. "No."

"Okay. Okay." I replied just as quickly.

Amy returned to the RV with a half filled canteen. She and her sister, Andrea, were going to return to the quarry to collect more water and to fish. Amy said that Jacqui, another woman from the camp, would be returning shortly with others to help me with Carol.

I was able to coax Carol into drinking down the water in the canteen. When she had finished, she quietly cried herself to sleep. When she had fallen asleep deeply enough to where her cries had ended, Jacqui came into the RV.

"You must be Cheyenne." Jacqui greeted me, looking worriedly at Carol.

"I am. Are you Jacqui?"

"I am. How is Carol?" Jacqui asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I think she'll be okay. She just fell asleep about fifteen or twenty minutes ago."

"Good. That's good." Jacqui looked away from Carol, shaking her head.

"May I ask what happened?" I asked slowly, sitting down next to Jacqui.

"Ed. He's what happened." Jacqui answered roughly, her expression full of disgust. "Ed is an abusive son of a bitch. He won't let Carol talk to anyone or do anything without his say so. We all finally had enough and confronted him about his behavior. When he hit Carol, Shane gave Ed what for."

"Oh my god." I shook my head, turning to look at Carol. "Who is Ed?"

"Ed is Carol's husband."

"No…" I looked back at Jacqui. "That's terrible. Jacqui, that's awful."

"The worst part of it is…" Jacqui turned to look at Carol before looking back at me. She leaned in close, her voice barely higher than a whisper. "Carol confided in me that she thinks that Ed is starting to…_want_ Sophia. Sexually."

"Oh no…is Sophia another woman in the group?"

"No…Sophia is their daughter."

0o0o0

Boy, had it been one colorful and eventful day. First, I had learned that a group of survivors had left one of their own handcuffed on a rooftop in the middle of a walker infested city. Then, Shane had beaten Ed nearly to death and poor Carol had gone into shock over it. Then, Jim fell victim to heatstroke and was acting so strangely that Shane tied him up at the base of a tree.

By nightfall, everyone at camp had introduced themselves to me.

Andrea and Amy had brought back a plethora of fish for dinner. Everyone, except Ed, gathered around a fire to eat together. I was surprised when beer was produced, and happily accepted one when it was offered to me.

"Man, oh man, that's good." Shane said, helping himself to more fish. "I miss this."

I agreed. I missed the mundane. I missed sitting on my parents' front porch in Macon, my feet kicked up on an ice chest full of Red Brick beer. I missed listening to my mom preparing a pie or tart from the window as I watched the sunset with our golden retriever, Peach, at my side. I missed the scent of my dad's chewing tobacco. I missed our afternoon barbecues and late night bonfires.

Without realizing it, tears had filled my eyes. I blinked rapidly, trying to keep them from coming. I closed my eyes and took a long drink of my beer.

"So, Cheyenne, do you plan on staying with us?" Jacqui asked kindly, cutting into her fish.

"I…well-"

"Didn't you say before that you were just searching for a safe haven?" Morales asked.

"Well if that's true, you might want to keep looking." Andrea joked.

Everyone laughed, and I joined in.

Amy suddenly stood, and her sister looked up at her worriedly.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to pee. Geez, you try to be discreet around here…" Amy shook her head, embarrassed.

Everyone laughed again.

"Well, Cheyenne? Do you plan on staying?" Dale asked, remembering Jacqui's question.

"I mean…I feel sort of guilty." I admitted softly, looking down at the ground.

"Guilty? Why?" Lori asked, furrowing her brow.

"Well, all of you have a very nice and tight knit group here. You've all obviously worked hard to establish a camp and a way of life. I feel like I've…barged in on that. I wouldn't want to be another mouth to feed or another person to worry about."

"Cheyenne, take a look around you. We are living in tents and an RV by the woods, just outside of a city filled with walkers that could decide to journey this way at any moment. This isn't a government shelter or a state of the art facility. We're just a group of survivors trying to survive out here." Dale pointed across the fire at me. "Are you a survivor?"

Suddenly, Amy was screaming. We all looked to see a walker biting down on Amy's arm while she watched helplessly, screaming in horror and in pain. The walker tore out a chunk of flesh from her arm, and she dropped to the ground.

Then, they were everywhere. Walkers were coming at the camp from all directions.

Carl, Lori's son, was crying out in terror for his mother.

Shane yelled out something before he brandished his shotgun and began firing at walkers. The sound of his gun startled me. I fell to the ground, frozen. I was faintly aware of the taste of blood in my mouth. I had bitten my tongue when I had fallen.

From the ground, I watched Jim swinging a baseball bat at approaching walkers.

Carol was holding onto Sophia, both of them crying as they tried to avoid the walkers.

Andrea was screaming while she hovered over her sister, who had been bitten a second time.

Shane was shielding Lori, who held Carl, and Carol, who held Sophia.

I could see that everyone was slowly trying to follow Shane up the hill towards the RV. I knew that was my best chance of making it out of the attack alive. I began to crawl towards the hill, fisting the dirt as I avoided the walkers feeding on the people they had killed.

Suddenly, there were more gunshots sounding off from behind me. Before I could fathom where they were coming from, a hand encircled my arm. When the hand yanked me to my feet, I cried out in horror, thinking it was a walker.

"Shut the hell up!"

I turned my head to see that Daryl had returned, and had pulled me to my feet.

"Run up the hill! I'll cover you!" Daryl shouted in my face.

Though I wanted to remain frozen in place, I knew that I would be endangering Daryl's life if I held him up any longer. With a weak nod, I turned, and darted up the hill. Walkers on both sides of me were fallings as I made my way towards the others.

Just as quickly as it had started, it was over.

My eyes darted all around, watching as the group reunited with loved ones or mourned over their lost ones.

Carol was on the ground, her arms around Sophia, sobbing like she had been earlier that day. I went to her, wondering where her husband was.

"Carol." I said gently, touching her shoulder. "Carol, are you hurt?"

She didn't answer. She continued to sob while she clung to her child.

"Sophia, are you hurt sweetheart?" I asked, touching the young girl's hair.

"I-I'm…okay." She managed to tell me through her tears.

"Carol…do you want me to check on…Ed?" I asked slowly, trying not to alarm Sophia.

Carol's eyes met mine. They grew wide. She hadn't even remembered her husband. She had been so focused on her daughter that she hadn't thought of Ed.

"Please." Carol replied weakly.

"Okay." I nodded.

I got to my feet, noticing for the first time that I was trembling. I carefully walked down the hill, passing by people who were crying and the dead bodies of their loves ones and walkers alike.

I went to each tent, peeking inside for any sign of Ed. I finally came to one, and looked inside. When I did, I came face to face with a walker consuming what was left of Ed's body. The second I appeared, the walker turned around and saw me. It snarled like an animal, baring its teeth. I was so startled and so frightened that I shrieked.

"Cheyenne!"

I looked down at the ground, spying a bloodied baseball bat lying abandoned nearby. I dove for it as the walker came out of the tent. When I flipped over on my back, bat in hand, the walker was coming towards me. With a cry, I reached the bat as high over my head as I could, and brought it down over the walker's head. Its skull visibly compressed. Blood, bone, and brain matter exploded from the gaping wound.

"Cheyenne."

I looked up to see Dale standing over me. I hadn't realized it, but I was crying. I let go of the baseball bat at the same time that I stood up. I threw my arms around Dale, crying into his shoulder as he embraced me.

"Shh. It's okay, Cheyenne. It's okay." Dale told me softly.

I cried for several minutes until Dale gently pulled me off of him.

"Well, Cheyenne, I would say that you're a survivor."


	2. Hope

**Chapter Two: Hope**

The next morning, the group quickly began taking care of the bodies. They planned to burn the walkers and to bury their loved ones. Unfortunately, drastic measures had to be taken in order to insure that their loved ones remained in their graves.

I helped burn the walkers. It was quite a chore, but I was glad to help. I felt useful.

While I did, I watched Daryl put a pickaxe into each head. It seemed wrong for him to be doing so in front of everyone. I wished that he would have taken the bodies elsewhere, but wasn't going to argue with him. He had saved my life twice. I had never even thanked him.

When the work was finished, the only thing left to do was to bury the bodies. However, Andrea was refusing to let anyone take her sister's body. I watched from a distance as the group argued over what to do about Andrea. At one point, Daryl stormed away from the group. I decided to follow him.

Daryl hadn't gone too far before he was turning around to face me.

"What do you want?" He asked, wiping his nose on his arm.

"I…I wanted to thank you." I replied with a smile.

"Thank me? For what?"

"What do you mean for what?" My smile grew. "You've saved my life twice in the past day, and we haven't even been introduced."

"I know your name." Daryl scoffed, looking away.

"Oh…well…that isn't important. What is important is that you saved me. I'm…so very grateful-"

"Alright. I got it."

I studied him. Even though his face and his clothes were dirty, he was very handsome.

"Are we done here?" He asked roughly.

"…sure." I frowned.

I watched Daryl help with the bodies. I wondered why he was so hostile towards me. Then again, Dale had said Merle and Daryl were hot headed and stubborn.

That's when I remembered Merle. He hadn't returned to camp. Lori's husband, Rick, T-Dog, a young man named Glenn, and Daryl had come back to camp. I felt terribly. Merle must have died, and Daryl was probably grieving. That would explain his attitude towards me.

"Cheyenne?"

I turned around to see Carol standing behind me.

"What is it, Carol?"

"They're…they're ready to take the bodies to the graves. I…I don't…I don't want Sophia to see…" Carol looked down at the ground. "Would you…would you take Sophia somewhere? Just until…until Ed has been buried…"

"Of course, Carol. Of course." I replied softly, placing my hands on Carol's shoulders.

"Thank you, Cheyenne." Carol whispered, sniffing.

"I'll take Sophia to the quarry. You just send for us when Ed has been buried."

Carol simply nodded, lifting her tear streaked face to look at me.

"Sophia is in Rick and Lori's tent with Carl."

I nodded, and started for the tent. Rick and Lori were standing outside of it, caught in a loving embrace. Rick was whispering into Lori's hair. I felt guilty for interrupting their moment.

"Carol asked me to take Sophia away while her father is buried." I explained when Rick and Lori broke away from each other. "I can take Carl too if you'd like."

"Thank you, Cheyenne. That might be for the best." Lori wiped her tears away. "He's still pretty shaken up after last night. It might be good for him to get away from camp for a little while."

"Sure."

"Carl, honey." Lori said, going into the tent.

She came out of the tent with Carl and Sophia in tow. They both looked pretty somber.

"Come on, kids. Let's go see if we can find something fun to do." I said with a smile, motioning for Carl and Sophia to follow me.

I was surprised when Sophia grabbed my hand as the three of us started for the quarry. I looked down at her. Her expression was full of sadness. It broke my heart to see a child at her age looking so worn down and sad.

"Sophia…I'm really sorry about your dad. I know how awful it is to lose a parent. I lost both of mine at the beginning of all of this." I told her softly, squeezing her hand.

"…were they bitten?" She asked quietly.

"Not exactly." I replied, looking away from her.

"What happened to them, Cheyenne?" Carl asked, looking up at me.

"It's probably better if we don't talk about it. Why don't we talk about something else?" I suggested with a smile.

"Like what?"

"Like…why don't you guys tell me about where you come from? Where you grew up?"

"It doesn't matter." Carl muttered.

"Why not?"

"I'm never going to see my house again. I'm never going to see any of my friends or my school or anything."

"Sweetie, you don't know that." I said, stopping him.

"Yes I do."

"Listen to me Carl," I got down on my knees in front of him, taking his hands into mine, "you have to hold onto the hope that one day, you might see your home again. You have to."

"Why?"

"The hope of one day being able to return home is going to keep you going. It's going to keep you alive and give you something to believe in."

"What about you?" Carl asked smartly.

"Well, my family had an old golden retriever. Her name was Peach. When the disease started breaking out, my dad let Peach run away. He thought that she would have a better chance of survival if she was able to run off on her own. I hang onto the hope that one day, when I go back to Macon, I'll see her laying on the front porch of my parents' house."

Carl smiled.

"Cheer up, Carl. You never know what can or will happen." I smiled, releasing his hands. "Now, why don't we go skip rocks?"

"Skip rocks?" Sophia asked curiously.

"You've never skipped rocks before?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Come on, Sophia, I'll show you how." Carl told her, grabbing her hand.

I watched Carl drag Sophia in the direction of the water.

We spent about an hour or so skipping rocks together. After a while, the kids started to perk up. I was glad to see them smiling. They both even laughed a few times.

"Sophia."

I turned around to see Daryl standing behind us. He looked at Sophia, pointing a thumb in the direction of camp.

"Your mom wants you back at camp. The service is about to get started."

"Okay." Sophia nodded, dropping the rocks she was holding.

"I'll stand with you at the service, Sophia." Carl told her sweetly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Carl."

"Cheyenne?" Carl asked, turning to face me as he and Sophia headed off.

"Yeah, Carl?"

"I hope that you find Peach…you know…when all of this is over."

"Thanks, Carl. Me too." I replied with a smile.

I watched the two kids walking back to camp. At one point, they broke into a run. I figured that they were racing, and chuckled to myself.

"Peach Who's Peach?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The family dog."

"What happened to her?"

"My dad set her free when the outbreak started. When I was leaving home to find a safe place to stay, I found her body just down the street from where we lived. She'd been run over by a car…probably someone in a hurry to get out of Macon. I buried her in the yard."

"Why does Carl hope you'll find her then?" Daryl asked confusedly.

"I told him that she was alive."

"…why?"

"I was trying to show him that it's important to have hope in rebuilding our past lives." I explained.

Daryl snorted.

"Whatever." He said, waving his hand.

"Daryl?"

"What?"

"…I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry…about Merle."

Daryl's face darkened.

"Just drop it, lady."

"Okay. I just wanted you to know-"

"I said drop it." He told me harshly, his eyes narrowing.

"Okay."

With that, Daryl turned and headed back towards camp.

0o0o0

Though I had high hopes the day before that today would be better, it was turning out not to be the case. The cleanup and burial had taken a toll on everybody in the camp. To make matters worse, Jim had been bitten during the night attack, but had kept it hidden until he chose to confide in Jacqui. Rick was hopeful that if we went to the CDC, we would be able to find help for Jim to keep him from turning.

So that was where we were heading: the CDC.

"Mom, can Cheyenne ride with us?" Sophia asked Carol as we were all collecting our things.

"Oh…honey, there's not enough room in the Jeep." Carol looked at me apologetically.

"That's okay, Sophia. We'll have plenty of time to hang out at the CDC." I gave her a smile.

"Okay." Sophia smiled back at me. "Mom, I'm going to go wait in the Jeep."

"Alright, honey." Carol watched her daughter go before turning back to me. "Thank you for being so nice to my daughter. She's always wanted a sister. I think having a younger girl at camp has been a real treat for her."

"Oh, it's my pleasure. Sophia seems like a great girl." I replied, still smiling. "I always wanted a sister too growing up. I used to ask my parents for one as a kid."

Carol laughed.

"Did you ever get a sister?"

"Nope. My parents had me, and I was such a holy terror, they decided to get sterilized."

Carol laughed even harder than before, and I laughed right along with her.

"Stop it, Cheyenne. I'm sure you were a wonderful child."

"I wasn't all bad." I shrugged.

"Who _are_ you going to ride with, Cheyenne?"

"Hmm…I hadn't really thought about it. I don't want to crowd Jim on the RV." I answered, looking over at the vehicles.

"Well, that leaves the van, the other Jeep, and the truck. T-Dog, Shane, and Daryl will all have room for another passenger. It's your choice I guess."

"I see. Well, I'd better go get a ride if I don't want to get stuck here."

"We'll talk more later?" Carol asked, turning to watch me.

"Definitely." I smiled.

I studied the vehicles. From our past interaction, I was guessing that Daryl probably didn't want to give me a ride. I had to settle for riding with Shane or T-Dog. I said a rhyme in my head, wagging my finger alternately between the van and the Jeep. When the rhyme was finished, my finger was over the van. I decided to ask T-Dog if it was alright if I rode with him.

As I walked past the truck, the driver side door suddenly swung open. It blocked my way.

"You can ride with me." Daryl muttered, shutting the door behind him.

I was so surprised that I stared stupidly at him as he went to the passenger side door and held it open for me. His eyes widened when I didn't follow him to the other side of the truck.

"Well are you coming or not?" He asked exasperatedly.

I nodded, and went around the truck to get inside. I had barely sat down when Daryl slammed my door shut, nearly shutting my foot in the door. I wondered if I was making a mistake by riding with Daryl.

Daryl got into the truck, and started it up quickly. We were last in the succession of cars heading for the CDC.

I was hot inside of the truck. I realized quickly that the AC didn't work. I unbuckled my seatbelt to take off my flannel shirt. Luckily, I had on a tank top underneath.

"Do you mind?" I asked, motioning to the window.

Daryl shook his head without taking his eyes off the road.

I unrolled the window as far as it would go before I buckled my seatbelt again. I turned to see Daryl shaking with quiet laughter.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You." Daryl turned to look at me momentarily. "Do you really think we'll run into a situation where we wreck?"

I was confused for a moment, but then I realized that he was referring to my buckled seatbelt.

"I guess it's just a habit." I replied sheepishly, looking down at my lap.

Daryl reached for the cassette player. He pressed a button, and music started playing. As I looked out the window, I immediately recognized the song. I smiled to myself.

"I've been run down. I've been lied to. I don't know why I let that mean woman make me a fool…" I sang quietly to myself, watching the trees blow by.

"You know the Allman Brothers?" Daryl asked.

I turned to look at him. He was looking at me.

"I'm from Macon. I was raised on the Allman Brothers." I smiled as I looked out the windshield. "Whenever my dad and I drove somewhere together, he always turned on 'Hot 'Lanta', and turned it up as loud as it would go."

I looked over as Daryl skipped forward a few tracks. Suddenly, 'Hot 'Lanta' came on.

As I listened to the music, images of my dad driving his beat up truck flashed through my mind. Even though he had the money to buy a new truck, he never gave up his baby.

I realized that tears were spilling over, and were falling down my cheeks.

"Sorry. That was dumb." Daryl mumbled, turning off the tape.

"It's okay." I murmured, wiping away my tears.

We didn't speak again until one of the horns blew. Daryl pulled off to the side of the road and jumped out of the truck to go and see what was up. While he did that, I made my way to Carol and Sophia. They were stretching their legs by the Jeep.

"Hi, girls." I said.

"Hi, Cheyenne." Sophia greeted me with a smile.

"How are you getting along so far?" I asked, leaning against the Jeep.

"Cheyenne, are you okay?" Carol asked worriedly. "Have you been crying?"

"Just a little. It's not a big deal. I promise."

"Okay." She replied with a sad smile.

"Ladies, Rick wants to talk to everyone by the RV." Glenn said, appearing suddenly.

"Oh…sure." Carol nodded, grabbing Sophia's hand. "Come on, honey."

"Come on, Cheyenne." Sophia said, motioning to me with her free hand.

I followed them to the RV where everyone was standing around Rick.

"…Jim has asked us to leave him here. He isn't doing well. It's what he says he wants."

"…and he's lucid?" Carol asked, visibly distressed by the news.

"He seems to be. I would say yes."

The group had a discussion about Jim, weighing all of the possibilities. In the end, they decided that the best thing to do was to honor Jim's wishes. They chose a tree with plenty of shade. Rick and Shane carefully placed him under it.

Everyone took turns saying their goodbyes in their own way. I noticed that it was particularly hard for Dale. When he walked back towards the RV, I followed him.

"Dale." I said.

He turned to face me, tears shining in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Dale." I told him, slowly hugging him. "I know I've only been around for a short while, but I could tell that you and Jim were close. I'm just so sorry that it had to be this way."

"Thank you, Cheyenne." Dale replied, pulling back.

"If you want me to ride with you, I can do that. I know you have Glenn and Jacqui, but if you need somebody else to keep you company, I'm available as a shoulder to lean on or someone to talk to."

"That's sweet, Cheyenne." Dale smiled, wiping at his eyes. "Is Daryl giving you trouble?"

"No. It's been fine."

"Well then, why don't you ride with him? If things become awkward or if he starts giving you a hard time, just ask him to honk the horn. I'll pull over for you."

"Thanks, Dale."

I patted him once on the back before I headed back to the truck. Daryl was already inside.

"Are you…are you okay?" I asked as I settled into the seat.

"Yeah." He answered simply. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

Daryl started up the truck, and followed the other cars towards the CDC.

0o0o0

Cheyenne fell asleep at some point while I was driving. She had rolled up the window, and was using her flannel as a pillow. Her arms were wrapped around herself, and I wondered if she was cold.

I rolled up my window most of the way, and turned to look at her again. She looked peaceful. The only time anyone looked that peaceful those days was when they were sleeping or dead.

I turned my eyes to the radio. I started up the Allman Brothers tape again.

My eyes flickered to Cheyenne again to make sure the music didn't wake her. When I was satisfied that she was deeply asleep, I turned my attention to the road.

By the time the tape had played through twice, we had reached the CDC. As we approached, I turned the tape off.

I could already see that there were bodies everywhere. The prospect of finding help at the CDC wasn't looking very promising.

I parked the truck and turned it off.

Cheyenne was still sleeping. I reached over, and set my hand on her bare shoulder. I gave her a gentle shake, but she didn't stir. I gave her a rougher shake, and she unwrapped her arms from around herself. Her eyes opened.

"We're here." I told her, taking my hand away.

"Oh…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to fall asleep." Cheyenne told me tiredly, lifting her head.

"You weren't driving." I snorted, opening my car door.

I got out of the truck. Most everybody else had already gotten out of their vehicles. They were gawking at the piles of dead bodies in front of the CDC.

I pulled out my crossbow, holding it up as I followed the others towards the CDC. I held my shotgun in the other. I turned my head slightly to see Cheyenne following me as she buttoned up her flannel shirt. I turned completely around to face her.

"Do you even have a weapon?" I asked, approaching her.

"No."

I rolled my eyes as I held out my shotgun to Cheyenne.

"You know how to use a gun, right?"

"My dad let me fire his handgun a few times." Cheyenne replied, taking the shotgun from me.

"If you accidentally shoot me or if you lose or damage that gun, I'll put an arrow through your eye, lady." I threatened seriously, turning back around.

Our group approached the CDC, weapons ready. When we reached the doors, Shane and Rick tried to open them by force.

I turned around and spotted a walker head right for us.

"Walkers!" I shouted, taking several steps forward.

I put an arrow into the walker, and turned back around to face the group.

"You led us into a graveyard."

"He made a call." Shane said to me.

"It was the wrong damn call." I retorted angrily.

"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up. Shut up!" Shane shouted, shoving me backwards.

I moved towards him, but Cheyenne's hand was suddenly on my chest.

"Get off me." I snapped, throwing her hand off of me.

"Alright! I'm sorry." She replied, holding up her hand.

I listened to Shane and Rick argue until finally, everyone started heading back to the vehicles. I grabbed my shotgun from Cheyenne.

"Come on." I told her.

I turned to see walkers swarming towards our group, who was frozen in between the cars and the closed down CDC. I started firing my shotgun at some of the walkers, trying to put as many down as I had to so that we could all get back to our cars.

Suddenly, one of the doors opened. A bright, white light consumed the open doorway.

0o0o0

It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, the group was standing outside of a closed off building while walkers slowly approached, threatening to take us all down.

Dr. Jenner, the last person remaining at the CDC, had allowed us all to enter. Upon entering, he took a vile of blood from each person in order to test us for the walker disease. When everyone was cleared, he showed us where we could have dinner.

I filled my plate with pasta while everyone rapidly consumed wine.

Everyone was in high spirits. Rick and Lori allowed Carl to have a sip of wine, which was a real hoot to watch. Glenn became extremely drunk, and I guessed he hadn't gotten drunk very many times before the outbreak. I was glad to see everyone laughing and having a good time like the night we had fish and beer by the fire.

When I got up to clear my plate, Daryl joined me at the sink.

"You don't like wine?" He asked, the smell of Southern Comfort on his breath.

"I've never been a fan. It was always beer and whiskey at my parents'." I replied, setting my dishes in the empty sink.

Daryl set the bottle of Southern Comfort down in front of me.

"I've always been a Maker's Mark girl." I replied, sliding the bottle back towards him.

"When's the last time that's been available to you?" Daryl scoffed.

"True." I shrugged.

I picked up the Southern Comfort and took a generous swig. It was sweet and spicy.

After dinner, Dr. Jenner showed everyone where they could sleep and shower. When I heard him say 'shower', I died and went to heaven. I quickly found a room to sleep in, and hurried into the bathroom. I couldn't get my clothes off fast enough to get into the shower.

When the warm water fell down on top of me, I laughed happily. I used one of the little shampoos. It smelled citrusy and delicious. I lathered it up and shampooed my hair twice. I used a citrus conditioner, feeling it soften my hair as I massaged it into my scalp.

I was delighted to find a razor, and though I cut myself many times, I was happy to have the opportunity to shave my legs, underarms, and…other areas. I used a cinnamon smelling soap all over my body.

I wanted to stay in the shower longer, but knew I had to conserve hot water. I sadly turned the water off once I had finished scrubbing myself down. I wrapped myself in a fluffy towel, and searched for a hairbrush to tame my tangled, wet hair.

When I had finished toweling and brushing my hair, there was a knock at my door.

"Coming!" I called, holding the towel around me as I answered the door.

Sophia was on the other side of the door, already showered and dressed in pajamas.

"Cheyenne, Carl and I are going to rec room. Will you come?"

"Sure. I'd love to. I'll meet you there when I'm dressed."

"Okay."

I closed the door and dropped the towel. I had left my underwear and bra in a sink full of soap and water while I had showered. I scrubbed them down with a loofah before I took them out of the water and left them on the counter to dry for a few minutes.

"Hmm." I said to myself, tapping my chin.

There was a small dresser in my room. I suddenly wondered if there was clothing in it. I went to the dresser, and opened the top drawer. I was excited to see a few pairs of women's underwear inside. I opened the second and third drawers and found a few clothing items that I would be able to use.

By the time I had finished inspecting the dresser, my underwear and bra were only slightly damp. I pulled on my underwear, but left my bra to continue drying.

I put on my flannel shirt and buttoned it up. It was long enough that it covered my butt.

When I was finished, I made my way to the rec room. Carl and Sophia were playing checkers at a coffee table while Carol and Lori were sipping on wine.

"Hi, guys." I said as I entered.

"Oh hi, Cheyenne. Sophia said she invited you to join us." Carol said with a smile, patting the empty seat on the couch next to her.

"Wine?" Lori offered, holding up the bottle.

"No thanks."

I sat down on the couch with Carol, watching Carl and Sophia play. I was glad for them.

"How was your shower?" Carol asked, sipping her wine.

"Divine." I grinned. "How was yours?"

"Heavenly." Carol replied, glowing.

"And you, Lori?" I asked, turning my head.

"If my son weren't here, I'd tell you ladies all about it." Lori said, taking a long drink of wine.

"Good for you, Lori." Carol said, raising her glass.

"That sounds like fun." I admitted, holding a pillow to my chest.

"Oh really? And what would you know about things like that?" Carol asked, very motherly.

"I hate to break it to you, Carol, but…been there, done that."

Lori laughed loudly, but Carol looked slightly concerned.

"How old are you, honey?" She asked, looking from Sophia to me.

"I turned 23 about two months ago." I replied, running a hand through my wet hair.

"23? I thought you were younger." Carol admitted.

"That's a blessing, Cheyenne. Trust me." Lori said, standing by the couch.

"Cheyenne, will you play me?" Sophia asked, turning around.

"When your game with Carl has finished."

"It has. I kicked his ass." Sophia said proudly.

"Sophia!" Carol exclaimed, nearly spilling her wine.

Lori and I exchanged a look and laughed.

"Sorry, Mom…butt."

I played one game of Sophia with checkers, and then let Carl play against her again. While they played, Carol, Lori, and I talked about girly things. We talked quietly so that the kids couldn't hear us.

Finally, Carol announced that it was Sophia's bedtime.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Cheyenne." Sophia said from the door.

"Okay, Sophia. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight, Cheyenne." Carol waved.

"Goodnight."

"Come on, Carl, I'll walk you to your room." I offered, motioning for him.

"Okay."

"You'll have to show me the way." I told him, walking beside him.

As we walked, Daryl stumbled out of one of the rooms. His bottle of Southern Comfort was halfway gone. Some of it was on his shirt.

"Oh…are you guys out looking for…for…Peach?" Daryl asked when he saw us.

"Shut up, Daryl." I growled, glaring at him.

"What do you mean, Daryl?" Carl asked, confused.

"Oh wait…that's right. Peach got…hit by a car."

Daryl moved the bottle towards his hand and slammed them together dramatically, causing some of the whiskey to fly out of the bottle.

"What?" Carl asked, looking up at me.

"Carl…"

"Whatever." Carl stormed off down the hall and turned the corner.

I looked at Daryl. He was looking at me smugly.

"You're a real jerk, you know that?" I asked.

Before he could reply, I shoved him hard against the wall as I headed for my room.


	3. Reliving A Memory

**Chapter Three: Reliving A Memory**

When I got back to my room, I turned off the lights and immediately got into bed. The sheets were cool and smelled clean. I pulled the blue blanket up over myself, and closed my eyes. I knew it wouldn't be long before I was fast asleep. Though I had taken a nap in the truck, I was exhausted.

Suddenly, there was a knock at my door.

"Who is it?" I asked, opening my eyes.

"…it's Daryl."

I sighed.

"Daryl, go sleep it off somewhere. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Come on." He whined.

I reluctantly kicked off my blanket and got out of bed. I opened the door.

"What is it?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

"Can I come in?"

"Only if you leave that bottle out in the hallway. You can have it again when you leave."

Daryl slowly bent over, setting the bottle down.

"Come in." I said, standing aside.

Daryl shuffled in. I closed the door behind him.

When I turned around, Daryl was right behind me. I gasped, surprised by how close he was standing to me. I could smell the Southern Comfort on his breath.

"Daryl…what are you doing?" I asked slowly, looking up at him.

I hadn't noticed before, but Daryl had blue eyes. He looked even more handsome than before. I could smell the citrus and cinnamon soap coming off of him, though his scent was predominantly made up of the whiskey at that point.

Suddenly, Daryl's hands were on my face and he was kissing me. I reacted immediately, placing my hands over his and pulling them away. I struggled against his mouth.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted when we broke apart.

"What do you mean? What do you think I'm doing?" Daryl snorted and then hiccupped.

"Well, don't!"

"Why not?" Daryl closed the distance between us again. "You like it. I know you do."

"…that doesn't matter." I replied, looking into his blue eyes.

"I'm not asking you to marry me. I'm just offering you the chance to have some fun."

I actually considered it. I had told Lori and Carol that if I had a man waiting for me, I would have taken a shower with him. Daryl Dixon was standing in front of me, offering to do anything I wanted.

"Fine. Just give me a few minutes." I said finally.

"Okay." Daryl nodded vigorously.

I walked past him and went into the bathroom. I found a toothbrush inside a plastic wrapper, and pulled it off. There was a small tube of toothpaste there as well. I brushed my teeth thoroughly, erasing any traces of pasta or anything else in my mouth.

My hair was only a little damp. I ran a brush through it.

When I was satisfied, I returned to the bedroom. Daryl was laying on the bed, face down, snoring loudly.

"Are you serious?" I muttered.

I sighed heavily.

I rolled Daryl onto his side, just in case he puked in the middle of the night. I covered him with the blue blanket, and found an extra in the closet for myself.

I got into bed beside Daryl.

"Well…goodnight." I told him, turning away from him.

0o0o0

When I woke up, I had no idea what time it was. I looked over at the clock on the bedside table. It was just after ten in the morning. I hadn't slept in that late in a long time.

I stretched as I looked over. Daryl wasn't in bed.

"Daryl?"

I sat up, looking around the room. The bathroom door was wide open. He wasn't in there.

I got out of bed and got dressed. I chose a navy blue henley from the dresser, as well as a new pair of underwear. I wore my jeans with the henley.

Not knowing what would happen in the days following, I decided to pack up the clothes I had found, as well as my flannel shirt and tank top. I found a knapsack in the closet, and shoved the clothes into it. I also threw the toiletries inside. That way, I would be prepared.

When I had freshened up, I took my knapsack to the kitchen and dining area. I wanted to make sure I had it with me in case I found anything else I might want to take.

Most of the others were already awake and having breakfast. Daryl wasn't there.

"Good morning, guys." I said, walking up to the table. "Has anyone seen Daryl?"

"No. Not since last night." Dale said, eyeing me strangely.

"Cheyenne, eggs?" Carol offered, holding a pan out to me.

"Please."

"Here you go, honey." Jacqui said, handing me a plate and fork as she went to Glenn's side.

"Thanks."

I helped myself to some of the eggs. They tasted funny, but I was hungry enough that I didn't mind.

"Sophia, how did you sleep?" I asked, shoveling eggs into my mouth.

"Really good. I had a really good dream. Mom and I lived in a mansion. We had a huge swimming pool and a lot of butlers. My room was pink. I had all kinds of cool stuff in it."

"That sounds awesome." I told her with a smile.

"One day you'll have a pink room, honey." Carol told Sophia, kissing the top of her head.

"My bedroom was covered in cowboy wallpaper."

"What?" Sophia asked, looking at me funny.

"My parents thought I was going to be a boy. They were going to name me Macon. They decorated my room in all of this cowboy themed stuff. Well, my mom found out that the lady who did her ultrasound and told her I was a boy made a mistake…but my parents liked my room so much that they left it the same."

"Oh my goodness." Carol laughed.

"Yeah. Most girls my age grew up with N*Sync and Backstreet Boys on their walls. I grew up with John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart on mine."

Carol laughed again.

"You're a trip, Cheyenne."

"Thanks."

During breakfast, Dale asked Dr. Jenner to show us the research that the CDC had done on the walker disease. We all went to the main room of the facility. At some point, Daryl slipped in. I turned around to look at him, but when our eyes met, I turned away.

We all listened while Dr. Jenner explained the process of the disease to us. I watched the colorful images on the large screen, only half listening to Dr. Jenner as he spoke.

When Dr. Jenner finished speaking, and everyone absorbed all he had said, Dale asked another question.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you, and I hate to ask one more question, but that clock…it's counting down. What happens at zero?"

I suddenly noticed that Dale was right. There was a digital clock on the wall.

"The basement generators…they run out of fuel." Dr. Jenner replied simply.

"…and then?" Rick asked, visibly panicked.

Dr. Jenner didn't answer.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked loudly, speaking to the computer system.

"When the power runs out, facility wide decontamination will occur." Vi answered.

Immediately, the men in the group collected. They headed for the basement to look at the generators. Only Daryl and Dale remained with the rest of us.

Carol was holding onto Sophia, who has clinging to her mother just as tightly.

"Don't worry, Sophia. I'm sure everything will be fine." I told her, forcing a smile onto my face.

"Another lie." Daryl muttered, walking behind me.

I spun around, following him as he paced the room.

"You know what? I've had it with you. I'm not maliciously lying to the kids. I'm trying to make them feel better." I hissed.

"Whatever you say, lady. A lie is a lie." Daryl answered without turning around.

"You're a real-"

"Jerk? I know." Daryl interrupted, turning to look at me.

"I was going to say shitbag." I replied angrily.

Daryl smiled strangely before I returned to where Carol and Sophia stood.

"Hey, Sophia, why don't you and your mom come with me to the rec room? We can play a few games of checkers until the guys get back." I suggested.

"Mom?" Sophia looked up at Carol.

"S-Sure, honey." Carol replied, half smiling at Sophia.

The three of us ended up taking the checker board into the room they had stayed in the night before. We didn't even end up playing. Carol dozed on the bed while Sophia and I sat on the couch together.

"Cheyenne, what does decontamination mean?" Sophia asked finally.

"It's kind of like cleaning."

"So…this place is going to get cleaned?"

"I guess so. I really don't know, sweetie." I admitted, leaning back against the couch.

"I'm…scared." Sophia said quietly.

"It's going to be okay. The guys are trying to figure out what we can do to keep the generators working. If we have to…we'll always just leave."

Sophia scooted closer to me.

We sat together for a while longer before suddenly, the AC shut off.

I could hear everybody questioning Dr. Jenner in the hall, and went to where Carol was sleeping. I shook her awake, and she, Sophia, and I joined everyone in the hall. The lights flicked off.

"…what do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?" Daryl asked, running alongside Dr. Jenner.

"You'd be surprised." Dr. Jenner answered.

The guys that had gone down to the basement met Dr. Jenner at the bottom of the stairs.

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked angrily.

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half hour mark." Dr. Jenner looked at the digital clock. "Right on schedule."

Everyone waited as Dr. Jenner paused in the center of the main room.

"It was the French." He finally said.

"What?" Andrea asked confusedly.

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs until the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs off fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" Dr. Jenner was becoming hostile and angry.

"Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!" Rick shouted.

I turned towards Carol and Sophia.

"Come on." I told them, grabbing both of their hands.

We started running towards the exit with the others when an alarm started going off. A timer appeared on the large screen.

"Thirty minutes to decontamination." Vi said.

Everyone remembered themselves and ran for the door again. Suddenly, it shut.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asked, horrified.

"Mom!" Sophia screamed, throwing herself at Carol.

"Shh. It's okay, baby. It's okay." Carol said tearfully, hugging her daughter close.

I watched as Daryl ran at Dr. Jenner, who was seated at a computer. Shane and T-Dog had to pull him off of Dr. Jenner.

"Hey, Jenner, open that door now." Rick demanded, stomping towards him.

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things."

"That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that." Dr. Jenner pointed at Rick. "It's better this way."

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes?"

Dr. Jenner started screaming.

I turned towards Sophia, who was quietly crying against her mother. I went to them, dropping on my knees in front of Sophia. I held her face in between my hands, forcing her to look at me.

"Don't listen, Sophia. Don't listen." I repeated over and over again, trying to drown Dr. Jenner out.

"Cheyenne…" Carol whispered, silent tears streaking down her face.

"What, Carol?" I asked, taking my focus off of Sophia.

"He…he just said…this place is going to…explode." Carol said, gasping for air as she began to sob.

Carol and Sophia began to cry loudly together, arms around one another.

I was vaguely aware of my surroundings. I suddenly felt lightheaded, and my knees buckled.

"I have you, Cheyenne." Dale said, his arms around me.

I buried my face into Dale's front. I began to shake, tearless sobs escaping my mouth as I tried to breathe normally.

"It's okay, Cheyenne."

"Daddy." I sobbed, my voice lost in Dale's shirt.

_"It's okay, Cheyenne." My dad told me in his grisly voice._

"Daddy."

_"Shy…it's going to be alright."_

"Daddy!" I screamed, feeling Dale's hands grip my arms.

"Cheyenne! You have to calm down!" Dale told me worriedly, shaking me slightly.

"I'll take her." Lori's voice was close by.

I felt Dale let go of me as Lori put an arm around me.

"Come on, honey, let's go sit down." She said gently.

I sat with her and Carl, who put his hand on my knee. I stared at the floor, still shaking. I could feel wet streaks on my face from where I had been crying.

"Come on!" Daryl suddenly yelled, waving an arm.

Dr. Jenner had opened the door.

"Cheyenne, get your knapsack. Let's go." Lori said, grabbing Carl.

I did as I was told, and ran after Lori, Carl, and the others. We ran up the several flights of stairs to the top level. Daryl and Shane were already trying to bust through the glass with their axes.

T-Dog picked up a chair. I looked over, and saw another one sitting close to me. I grabbed it, and began hurling it at the glass with all of my strength. We weren't even cracking the glass.

"Guys, get down!" Rick yelled.

I looked and saw Shane readying his shotgun. I moved, leaving my chair behind.

"Cheyenne, stay with Sophia." Carol suddenly said, carrying her bag to Rick.

I saw Sophia lying on the ground. I held out my hand to her.

"Come here." I said, pulling her close.

"Cheyenne…" She said worriedly, hugging me.

"Look out!" Rick shouted.

I didn't even bother to look and see what was about to happen. I flung Sophia to the floor and shielded her with my body. I felt Carol practically throw herself down on both of us.

Then, there was an explosion. Glass shattered. I knew that at least one of the windows had broken.

"Come on!" It seemed like everyone shouted at once.

I got up and ran towards the broken window. I made sure that Carol and Sophia were out first before I followed. Those with guns took down walkers as we all ran towards the vehicles.

I instinctively ran for the truck. I pulled open the passenger door and nearly shut it on my hand as I hurried to get inside.

"Get down!"

Suddenly, I was pushed down in between the two front seats. My face was pressed against the center console when I heard the second explosion. It was much bigger than the first. It lasted much longer too.

I was aware of Daryl's hand on my back, and only sat up when it went away.

I looked at Daryl. He was breathing hard, his eyes on the CDC. I looked too. It was engulfed in flames. It had been blown up, and was still crumbling.

Daryl looked at me, and lifted a hand to my face. It was a much softer touch than the night before.

"Are you alright?" He asked genuinely, his blue eyes studying my face.

"Yes." I murmured, seeing the reflection of the flames in his eyes.

The vehicles ahead of us started moving. In a flash, Daryl's hand was gone from my face. He started up the truck, and followed the other cars close behind as we left the CDC behind.

0o0o0

"So…what was that?" I asked after we had been driving for a little while.

"What?" Cheyenne asked, furrowing her brow.

"Back there." I motioned with my head.

"I still don't understand."

"Nevermind."

I had heard Cheyenne calling for her daddy at the CDC. I had been so puzzled that I had stopped trying to break down the door for a minute to look back at her. Dale was holding her, and she was screaming in his arms. It was the first time in a long time that I had actually felt worried for someone else other than myself.

I wondered if she had been suffering a nervous breakdown or if she had been hallucinating or what. Whatever it was, it had given me cause for concern.

I looked over at Cheyenne. She had her elbow in the open window, her face in her hand. She was staring off into space.

I hadn't noticed until the night before, but Cheyenne was really pretty. I had never seen a girl with hair as long as hers. Though it wasn't particularly wise to keep her hair that long, it was nice to look at. She had kept it in a braid until after she had showered. Then, it was wavy and free and wet.

"What is it?" She asked suddenly, returning my stare with her hazel eyes.

"Nothing."

I looked back at the road.

"Do you know where we're going?"

"My guess is Fort Benning." I turned to look at Cheyenne. Her face had changed. "What?"

"That's only two hours away from Macon." She replied sadly, looking out the window.

We rode in silence the rest of the way. When it was getting dark, we pulled over to set up camp.

"You can sleep in the truck. The seats go back pretty far." I told Cheyenne when we had parked.

"Where will you sleep?"

"I hadn't really thought about it." I said, scratching the back of my neck.

"Well, why don't you sleep in the truck too? There's plenty of room." Cheyenne suggested.

"Okay." I agreed with a nod. "I'm going to find out what's happening. Be back in a minute."

I got out of the truck and went to figure things out. We were going to drive to Fort Benning in the morning. It was also decided that Shane's jeep, the van, and my truck were going to be abandoned to save gas. I would ride my motorcycle the rest of the way. Cheyenne would ride in the RV.

With that business taken care of, I headed back to the truck. I thought Cheyenne would be asleep, but she was reclined in the seat waiting for me.

"What's the news?" She asked when I got into the truck.

"We head to Fort Benning tomorrow. Some of the vehicles are getting left behind." I told her, reclining my seat. "You can ride in the RV."

"Okay."

I laid on my back, and closed my eyes.

"Can I ask you something?" Cheyenne asked softly.

"What?" I asked, opening my eyes again.

"What happened last night? Why did you…?" She asked, looking at me.

"I was drunk." I told her simply, closing my eyes again.

"That's it?"

"Well holy hell, I didn't propose to you." I said, propping myself up on my arm. "I knocked back a little too much whiskey. I acted like a drunken redneck. What do you want from me?"

"Nothing. I just wondered."

"Fine." I said roughly, laying back down.

"…you wanted to know why I was calling for my dad earlier. Right?"

I opened my eyes and looked at Cheyenne.

"Yeah."

"I was having one of those moments where I relived a memory. You know what I mean?"

"I guess." I turned over onto my side to face her. "What happened…to your dad I mean?"

"He and my mom died at the beginning of the outbreak." Cheyenne said, rolling onto her back.

"What happened?"

"When reports started airing about the disease and what it was going, my parents started devising plans for our family. Then, people started dying and reanimating and biting others. My parents realized that…they weren't going to make it.

My dad had a failing heart. He was on the transplant list. When the outbreak got worse, he and my mom knew that there was no way my dad was going to make it out in the world.

They sat me down and told me that they wanted me to run. They wanted me to find safety somewhere. They wanted me to survive. When I asked them what they were going to do, they very calmly explained to me that they were going to…die in the house together."

"…they killed themselves?" I asked, watching Cheyenne fighting tears.

"They overdosed on my dad's medication. They died together in bed…in the house my dad built."

"Cheyenne…"

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything." Cheyenne said quietly, turning back on her side.

I didn't. I watched Cheyenne's eyes slowly close. It didn't take her very long to fall asleep. Her breathing was deep, her mouth slightly opened. Her eyelids flickered.

"Goodnight, Cheyenne." I whispered.

I watched her for a few more moments before I fell into a heavy sleep.

0o0o0

The next morning, I woke up before Daryl. He was fast asleep, drooling on himself. I shook my head and chuckled softly as he snored loudly.

I got out of the truck and walked over to the Jeep. Sophia was leaned against it, staring at the ground. When I got close, she looked up.

"Hi, Sophia." I said quietly, looking around. "Where's your mom?"

"She's still sleeping." Sophia murmured.

"Oh. What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"About what?" I asked, leaning against the Jeep with her.

"My dad."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Do you miss him?"

"No." She said simply, looking up at me. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Of course not, Sophia. Your dad…" I started to say how horrible her dad was, but stopped myself.

"I know what my dad did. I know that he used to hurt my mom."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I used to hear it sometimes." Sophia looked away. "He did it in front of me once."

"Oh, Sophia." I breathed, getting down on her level. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm…I'm glad he's dead. I'm glad he can't hurt my mom anymore." Sophia told me seriously.

"I understand…and I don't think you're a bad person. You're a very sweet, very smart girl. I would have been proud to have you as a little sister." I said with a smile, touching Sophia's cheek.

"Thanks, Cheyenne." She said, throwing her arms around me.

"You're welcome."

Sophia and I stood together for a short while before more people started to wake up. Everyone collected their things and siphoned gas for the RV, Jeep, and motorcycle.

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked Daryl as he took his motorcycle out of the truck bed.

"What do you mean?" Daryl asked, wheeling the motorcycle around the truck.

"Are you going to be okay on your own?"

"I've only ridden this thing a million times." Daryl rolled his eyes at me.

I went to the truck, and leaned in through the window.

"What are you doing?"

I took the Allman Brothers cassette tape out of the player.

"Here," I said, handing the tape to him, "hang onto this."

"Why?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's the Allman Brothers." I shrugged.

"Whatever." Daryl replied with a sigh, sliding the tape into one of his pockets.

I started towards the RV. I turned back around for a moment to see Daryl smiling to himself. I wondered if it was me that was making him smile.

I smiled too as I climbed into the RV.


	4. Lady

**Chapter Four: Lady**

I sat on the floor of the RV in between Dale and Glenn while we drove. We didn't talk much. Shane and Andrea were in the back cleaning guns. T-Dog sat in the back.

"Oh geez." Dale said suddenly.

I immediately leaned up, looking out the windshield. There were cars as far as the eye could see scattered all over the road. A semi-truck was flipped over on its side.

Daryl was nowhere to be seen. I assumed that he had ridden ahead to scout out the road.

Suddenly, he appeared. He rode up beside Dale's window.

"See a way through?"

Daryl nodded, and led the way.

"Maybe we should just go back." Glenn said, fumbling with the map. "There's an interstate bypass-"

"We can't spare the fuel."

It was eerie seeing all of those cars with no passengers. Car doors were left hanging wide open. Luggage was strewn out across the road.

Suddenly, the radiator started smoking.

Dale stopped the RV. We all got out. Rick and the others got out of the Jeep. Daryl parked his motorcycle.

Everyone split up to search the cars for anything useful. I started walking through the cars, sliding my fingers over them as I passed by.

There was a truck that reminded me of my dad's. I walked up on it slowly, looking through the windows for bodies. There were none.

I opened up the driver side door and got in. I opened up the overhead visor. There were several CDs inside. I pulled the visor down, and began pulling out each CD one by one. There was Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Blind Melon, The Avett Brothers, and then a random Selena Gomez CD.

I laughed. I made up a story in my head. The owner of this truck was a man named Ray. Ray owned an auto repair shop. He had crazy long hair, a beard, and wore a bandana all the time. Ray also had a daughter named Kimberly. Kimberly wasn't into her dad's music. Ray kept the Selena Gomez CD in the truck just for his daughter.

"Cheyenne! Cheyenne, get down!"

I looked in the side mirror to see Rick waving his hands at me.

Quickly, I climbed into the backseat. I got down on the floor and curled up into a ball, covering my head with my arms.

I couldn't hear anything for what seemed like forever. Then, I heard the familiar sounds of shuffling and moaning. I knew that there were walkers passing through, and it sounded like there were a lot of them.

_"Shy…it's going to be alright."_

"Daddy." I whispered, closing my eyes tight.

_"Shh. Cheyenne Louise, listen to me. Listen to me, Shy."_

I was so scared. I felt the same fear I felt the night camp was attacked and the same fear I felt when Dr. Jenner closed the door and told us that the CDC was going to explode. I wanted to cry.

Then suddenly, I _heard_ crying.

I uncovered my head and opened my eyes. I slowly lifted my head up, listening hard for the crying. I heard it again. It sounded like a girl crying.

"Sophia." I whispered, my eyes widening.

I got up off of the floor and looked out the back window. I watched, horrified, as Sophia crawled under the guardrail and disappeared down the hill and into the woods. Two walkers were following close behind her.

"No." I murmured, reaching blindly for the door handle.

I fumbled with it until I tore my eyes from the last place I had seen Sophia. I quickly threw open the door and climbed out of the truck.

I started for the guardrail, but Daryl came out from around a car and grabbed me.

"Let go of me! It's Sophia!" I cried, fighting against his hold.

"Shut up! There are still walkers around!" Daryl hissed, covering my mouth.

Daryl grabbed me around the waist and ran back to the truck. He let go of me only to open the driver side door before he shoved me back into the truck. He climbed in with me, shutting the door behind him. He turned towards me, glaring at me.

"Are you trying to get us all killed?" He asked angrily.

"Those walkers went after Sophia."

"Rick went after her. You don't need to go too." Daryl said, throwing himself back into the seat. "Holy hell, lady. It would have been more effective to cut your throat and ring a dinner bell."

I looked out the window, hoping to see Rick emerging from the trees with Sophia.

After a while, I saw people starting to emerge from beneath vehicles. I threw open my car door and got out, searching for Carol.

"Sophia! Sophia!" Carol was shrieking, her arms being held by Lori.

"Carol!" I called, hurrying to where she stood.

"Oh god, Cheyenne!" Carol choked out, running forward to meet me.

Carol flung her arms around me, her tears soaking through my shirt.

"My baby, oh god, my baby!" She cried, choking on her tears.

"Shh. Shh. It's going to be okay, Carol. Shh." I murmured soothingly, rubbing her back.

While Daryl, Shane, and Glenn went into the woods to look for Rick and Sophia, I walked up and down the rows of cars with Carol. She eventually stopped crying, but she wouldn't talk to me. She just kept rubbing her arms and looking down at the asphalt.

I kept turning my head to see if the guys had come back with Sophia yet.

As Carol and I returned to the RV, she approached Dale.

"Why aren't we all out there looking? Why are we moving cars?"

"We have to clear enough room so I can get the RV turned around as soon as it starts running. Now that we have fuel we can double back to a bypass that Glenn flagged on the map." Dale explained.

"Going back's going to be easier than trying to get through this mess." Shane said, approaching us.

"We're not going anywhere until my daughter gets back." Carol said defiantly.

"No, of course not." I replied comfortingly, rubbing Carol's arms.

I gently guided her to the guardrail. We stood there together, watching the trees for any sign of Sophia.

0o0o0

It was nearly sunset when Rick and Daryl returned…without Sophia.

They explained that Sophia's trail had gone cold. They had taken down a walker, but from what they could tell, it hadn't been near Sophia. They promised to pick up her trail again in the morning.

Daryl had seemed really concerned about Sophia. The last time I had seen any kind of worry on his face or in his voice had been at the CDC.

Carol was very angry with Rick. She blamed him for Sophia getting lost. I didn't agree with her that it was Rick's fault. I felt like all of us had let Sophia down. If more of us had gone after her, she wouldn't have been alone.

That night, we all chose vehicles to sleep in. I returned to the truck I had hidden in.

Dale had let Carol sleep in the bed in his RV. She needed it.

I tossed my knapsack into the backseat of the truck. I had already pulled my flannel shirt out of it. I put it on and buttoned it up over my henley.

I was about to get into the truck when Daryl walked up.

"What is it?" I asked, opening the driver side door.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, putting his weapons into the backseat before I answered.

"I don't care." I said with a sigh. "I might decide to ring the dinner bell, though."

"Look, lady, I-"

"What is it with this 'lady' bullshit? My name is Cheyenne. You can call me Cheyenne, Chaney, Cheyenne Louise, or Adams. Take your pick."

"Chaney? Adams?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow with an amused smile.

"My good friends always called me Chaney. My last name is Adams." I explained.

"Can I call you Shy?"

"No." I said coolly, getting into the front seat and slamming the door behind me.

Daryl got into the truck on the other side.

"Did I strike a nerve?"

"My dad called me Shy. Nobody else ever called me that." I looked over at him. "And nobody ever will."

"Alright, alright. My bad, _Cheyenne_." Daryl said, throwing his hands up.

It was silent then. I looked up at the ceiling, wondering if Sophia was okay. I hoped she was safe wherever she was hiding. I hoped she knew that we were looking for her.

"We're going to find her, Cheyenne." Daryl said quietly, breaking the silence and reading my mind.

"I hope so, Daryl." I replied just as softly, looking over at him.

"We will." He said, determined.

"Okay. I believe you."

"Good." Daryl looked up at the ceiling. "I'm good at what I do. I'll pick up her trail in the morning and track that little girl down. She'll be on the RV napping before noon."

I smiled.

"Thanks, Daryl. That makes me feel better."

"…good."

"Well, we'd better get to sleep. It's going to be an early morning." I said, settling in. "Goodnight, Daryl."

"Goodnight…Cheyenne."

0o0o0

The next morning, everyone gathered at the RV to collect weapons and split into search groups. The moment I walked up, Carol pulled me aside.

"What is it, Carol?" I asked curiously.

"Cheyenne, I don't want you coming with us." Carol said, holding my arm.

"What? Why not?"

"I have my reasons…" Carol answered softly, looking away.

"I really want to help look for Sophia." I replied adamantly.

"I know you do, honey. I know."

"Why don't you want me coming, Carol? I need a reason."

"If Sophia would come back to the RV, it would make me feel better knowing that you were here to comfort her and take care of her."

I sighed. Though I wanted to go into the woods to help find Sophia, part of me felt obligated to honor Carol's wishes. After all, Sophia was Carol's daughter.

"Cheyenne…it would make me feel better knowing that you weren't in the woods. If I lost you too…" Carol let go of me and looked away, but I could hear the emotion in her voice.

I was starting to realize that Carol was looking at me like more than a friend. She viewed me like another daughter.

"…okay. I'll stay here with Dale and T-Dog." I finally said, defeated.

"Thank you, Cheyenne."

Carol and I returned to where the group was divvying up knives. When I walked up, Daryl walked towards me, holding out a decent sized hunting knife.

"Here, Cheyenne, I snagged this for you." He said.

"I actually won't be needing that. Carol asked me to stay behind."

"What?" Daryl asked, his expression changing.

"Carol wants me to be here in case Sophia were to come back." I shrugged.

Daryl lowered the knife and looked away for a moment. Then, he lifted the knife to me again.

"Hang onto this anyways. It would make me feel better."

"It would make you feel better?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"In case you decide to ring the dinner bell again." Daryl said with a smirk.

"Okay, smart guy." I said, snatching the knife from him.

I turned to walk away, but Daryl caught my hand. I turned back around.

"Cheyenne?"

"…what?" I asked, feeling his hand holding mine.

Daryl looked at me very seriously. His blue eyes were intense.

"Don't be stupid." He said finally, letting go of my hand.

My hand dropped limply to my side as Daryl stepped over the guardrail and followed the others into the woods.

"Don't be stupid?" I mumbled to myself, fitting the knife in my pants.

I went to the RV. Dale was standing there, staring off into space.

"What's wrong, Dale?" I asked, standing in front of him.

"…nothing." Dale shook his head. "I'm going to stand watch."

I watched Dale go into the RV.

"You really didn't hear Andrea giving him an earful?" T-Dog asked from behind me.

"No. I must have been talking to Carol." I turned around to face T-Dog. "What happened?"

"Let's take a walk. I'll fill you in."

T-Dog and I walked in between cars for a few minutes before he finally told me all about what Andrea said to Dale. It made my blood boil.

"I can't even believe that she spoke to him that way. If I would have been there…" I shook my head angrily.

"Andrea's like that. She says how she feels. She keeps it real. I'm not saying she was right, but I guess we're all used to it."

"Not Dale. He looked…I don't even know how he looked."

"Maybe time apart will give them time to cool off."

"Maybe."

0o0o0

I took a nap on the RV not long after T-Dog and I returned from our walk. I offered to take over as lookout when I woke up, but Dale didn't want me to. I didn't argue. I figured he'd been through enough with Andrea.

I woke up to someone gently shaking me.

"Dale?" I asked groggily, opening my eyes.

"Sorry, Cheyenne. T-Dog is sick, and I want him to lie down." Dale explained quickly.

"Sick? What's wrong?" I asked, immediately getting out of bed.

"He has a high fever. It's the gash on his arm. He has an infection."

"I'll sit with him. You stay on lookout." I said, quickly making up the bed.

Dale helped T-Dog onto the RV. He immediately laid down, sweat pouring off of his forehead.

"Just hang on, T-Dog." I said softly, soaking a cut up T-shirt in water.

I dabbed his sweat away before I gently folded the T-shirt over T-Dog's face, leaving only his nose and mouth uncovered. I tucked the blankets around his body.

T-Dog slipped off to sleep quickly. I would remove the T-shirt every once in a while to soak it in water again. I was careful not to wake him.

I heard a commotion outside around sunset. I peeked through the window to see that some of the group had returned. They were having a discussion just outside of the RV.

Just then, Andrea burst through the RV door. She slammed it shut behind her.

"Jesus. Have a little bit of consideration." I hissed as quietly as possible, my eyes flickering from T-Dog to Andrea.

Andrea just stared at me. I realized that she was covered in dry blood.

"Oh my god. Are you okay?" I asked, getting up from the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine." She answered roughly.

"Are you sure?"

Andrea looked away from me, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Come on," I carefully placed my hands on her shoulders, "let's get you cleaned up."

"I can clean myself up." She insisted, pulling away from me.

"Andrea-"

"Just leave me alone." She snapped, looking up at me.

"Fine. Just be quiet. T-Dog is sick and he's trying to rest." I replied just as harshly.

I opened the RV door and joined the others in their huddle.

"What's going on?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"Carl's been shot." Dale told me.

"What? How? What happened?" I asked worriedly, looking from face to face.

"We don't know much, just that he's at a farm with his parents."

"Oh my god…"

"Let's wait around for a little while longer and then we'll figure things out." Dale suggested.

"I'm going to get changed." I said to no one in particular.

I headed towards the truck where my knapsack was. I rifled through it, and chose a red thermal shirt to wear. I went around to the side of the truck facing the woods. I unbuttoned my flannel shirt and let it fall to the ground at my feet.

I had just pulled off my henley when I heard someone clearing their throat behind me. I spun around to see Daryl standing there. He raised his eyebrows when I turned, wearing only a bra on top.

"Nice." He appraised me.

"You can't use the whiskey as an excuse for acting like a drunken redneck this time." I said coolly, hurriedly pulling on the thermal.

"Ouch. What was that for?" Daryl asked, taking a step towards me.

"Don't be stupid." I repeated as he had before.

"Holy hell, lady. Really?"

"Just…shut up." I pushed passed him as I went to find Carol.

"I won't do it. We can't just leave." Carol was saying as I joined the group.

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak." Dale argued.

"What if she comes back and we're not here?" Carol looked around at everyone. "It could happen."

"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone, that would be awful." Andrea said.

"Okay. We got to plan for this." Daryl said, appearing beside me. "I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV."

"If the RV is staying, I am too." Dale said.

"Thank you. Thank you both." Carol said with a smile.

"I'm in." Andrea said.

I noticed T-Dog, blanketed, standing by the back of the RV. I went to him, knowing that we had figured out what we were going to do about Sophia and rejoining the others.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked gently, putting a hand on T-Dog's forehead.

"Not much better." He admitted, shivering.

"Yeah. You're still burning up. Why don't you lie down again?" I suggested, removing my hand.

"I can't. I can't lay down anymore." T-Dog shook his head weakly.

"Okay. Okay." I said, rubbing his back.

Dale walked over carrying a prescription drug bottle. He held them out to T-Dog.

"Here, take some of these. They should help with the infection."

"Thanks, man." T-Dog said, taking the bottle.

"You're going to ride with Glenn to the farm. We'll all join you there tomorrow."

Dale and I helped T-Dog to the Jeep. He got into the passenger seat, still wrapped in the blanket. Once the door shut, Glenn took off in the direction of the farm.

0o0o0

That night, I tried to sleep on the floor of the RV. I could hear Carol crying in the bed. Her tears kept me up, wondering where Sophia was and when we were going to find her.

After listening to Carol cry for hours, I decided to get up and go into the woods. I wanted to find Sophia. I wanted her to be reunited with her mom.

When I got my things together, I headed for the door. Cheyenne was sitting on the steps.

"Move, lady." I told her quietly.

"What?" Cheyenne looked up at me. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going into the woods. I'm going to try and cover more ground before we leave tomorrow."

"I'm coming with you then." Cheyenne said, getting up and turning around to face me.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am. Carol had me stay here while everybody else went looking for Sophia. I want to find her too." Cheyenne said defiantly.

"…fine. Do you have your knife?" I asked, sighing.

"Right here." Cheyenne motioned to the knife at her waist.

"Let's go."

I started for the guardrail. Cheyenne followed close behind.

We walked in silence for a while. I kept glancing over at Cheyenne, wondering why she wasn't talking to me. I didn't understand why she took offense when I told her not to be stupid.

"It…it might be good to talk." I finally said.

"What?"

"It might be good if we had a conversation. If Sophia is around, maybe she'll hear us."

"Oh…okay." Cheyenne looked up at me. "Talk."

"What do you want me to talk about?"

"I don't know! It was your idea." She exclaimed, giving me a strange look.

"What's your problem, lady?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"I thought I told you not to call me that." She replied nastily.

"Well _excuse me_, Miss Cheyenne Louise."

"You're such a-"

"Jerk? Shitbag? Drunken redneck?" I asked, beating her to the punch.

"I hate you." Cheyenne muttered, looking away from me.

"No you don't."

Cheyenne sighed loudly and dramatically. She rolled her eyes.

"If it weren't Sophia lost in the woods, I would have stayed behind." She said quietly.

"You can go back if you want." I said, pointing behind us.

"Shut up, Daryl. I care more about Sophia than you do."

I stepped in front of Cheyenne, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Don't you dare say that. I've been part of this group way longer than you have. I've been busting my ass trying to find that little girl. So shut the hell up before I leave you stranded out here, and I won't come looking for _you_." I snapped.

Cheyenne looked surprised. Her hazel eyes were wide.

"…I-I'm sorry Daryl. I shouldn't have said that." She said finally.

"What's your problem with me today? I didn't do anything except tell you not to be stupid."

"Why would you say that to me? Do you think I'm stupid?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"No. I just wanted you to be careful." I admitted, looking at the ground.

"…oh."

"Yeah."

"Well…next time you can just say, 'be careful' or 'be safe'." Cheyenne suggested.

"Maybe I won't say anything next time." I countered, moving again.

"Fine. I don't care. I don't need your worry or your concern."

"Whatever, Cheyenne."

Then it was quiet again.

As we walked, I looked over at Cheyenne a couple of times. Her hair was braided back again. It swung back and forth as she walked. I hadn't noticed before, but a silver chain hung around her neck. Whatever was attached to it was inside of her shirt.

After we had been walking for quite a while, we came upon a campsite.

Immediately after finding it, I heard rustling in the tree closest to the tent. I crept up on it, and immediately saw what was the cause of the rustling. There was a walker hanging from the tree, a noose wrapped around its decaying neck.

"What the hell?" I muttered, looking up at it.

"What is…"

I turned to see Cheyenne. She had seen the hanging walker. Her expression told me everything I needed to know. She was thinking of the suicide of her parents.

When Cheyenne swayed, I dropped my crossbow to catch her.

"Shit!" I hissed, my arms locking around her waist.

"Daryl…" Cheyenne said, breathing heavily in my hold.

"What, Cheyenne? What?" I asked, holding her up.

"Shoot him." She said through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"Shoot him!" She suddenly screamed, jerking out of my grasp.

Without another word, I had picked my crossbow up off the ground. I turned swiftly, shooting the walker in the head at the same time. Its movement ceased. Its moaning stopped.

I could hear Cheyenne throwing up behind me.

I turned around, setting my crossbow down more gently than before. I got down on my knees behind Cheyenne, keeping her braid out of the way of her face. My hand hesitated over her back for a moment before I finally chose to rub slow circles into it.

"It's okay, Cheyenne. It's dead." I assured her calmly.

Cheyenne spit several times, and then sat back on the ground. She wiped her mouth off.

"Here." I said, handing her my canteen.

"Thank you."

She gargled water in her mouth and spit it out. She took a few sips, and then handed it back.

"Are you alright?" I asked, looking at her sweaty face.

"I'm better now." She said, wiping off her forehead.

I got up off the ground and held my hand out to her.

"Come on. Let's head back."

"What? Now? No…I told you…I'm fine." Cheyenne insisted, looking up at me.

"I know, but we need to get _some_ sleep tonight, and we still have to walk back to the RV."

Cheyenne sat on the ground for a few more seconds before she accepted my hand. I pulled her to her feet, and steadied her once she stood.

"I had no idea you were so squeamish." I joked, picking up my crossbow.

"Me neither…" Cheyenne replied quietly, casting one last look at the hanging walker.

"Come on. I'll even let you hold my hand." I said, stretching my hand out to her.

"No."

"No?"

"I'll let you hold my hand when you _want_ to hold my hand." Cheyenne said with a devilish grin.

"That'll never happen." I assured her, walking away from the campsite.

"Whatever you say, Daryl." She replied, following close behind.

0o0o0

The next morning, we left supplies on the hood of a car. Carol painted a note on the windshield letting Sophia know that we would return to the same place every day in case she came back.

"I'll lead the way to the farm." Daryl said, getting the motorcycle ready.

"Okay. Come on Carol, Andrea, Cheyenne." Dale said, motioning to us.

"Are you okay, Carol?" I asked, giving her a small hug.

"I'll be fine." She replied halfheartedly.

I watched as she climbed onto the RV after Andrea. I was about to follow them when Daryl captured my hand.

"Hey."

"What?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"…you want to ride with me?" He asked with a sly smile.

"On the back of that thing? My daddy would kill me if he were still alive." I said, smiling back.

"So…?"

"Alright." I sighed, feigning annoyance.

"She's riding with me, Dale!" Daryl called, tugging my hand.

As Daryl and I walked to the motorcycle, hand in hand, I laughed aloud remembering our conversation from the night before.


	5. Feelings

**Chapter Five: Feelings**

The wind whipped my braid around as I rode on the back of Daryl's motorcycle. At first, I had gripped him pretty loosely, but when we first took off, I grabbed onto him for dear life. I couldn't be positive over the noise, but I was pretty sure that Daryl had laughed at me.

My dad had always told me that if I ever dated a guy with a motorcycle, he would ground me until I was ancient. I wondered what he thought of me on the back of one at that moment.

It wasn't as far of a ride to the farm as I thought it would be. Before I knew it, we were coming up on the farmhouse. I could see from a distance that several of our group members were standing outside.

As we pulled up to the front of the house, more people started coming out.

When Daryl had parked the motorcycle, I quickly let go of him and got off. Daryl chuckled.

I saw Rick approaching our group.

"How is he?" Dale asked, the question that was on my mind too.

"He'll pull through thanks to Hershel and his people." Lori answered, smiling at an old man.

"And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if it weren't for him." Rick added.

Dale gave Rick a hug, and Carol ran to Lori's side.

"T-Dog," I greeted him warmly, "how are you feeling?"

"Much better." He answered with a smile.

"Good. I'm glad."

We all reunited, hugging and smiling. I gave Lori a tight embrace, and told her how happy I was that Carl was going to be okay. She muttered something about wanting to know why I had been on Daryl's motorcycle. When we ended our hug, she had a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

We found out quickly what had happened. There had been a hunting accident. Otis, one of the men from Hershel's farm, accidentally shot Carl while hunting a deer. Shane and Otis had gone to get medical supplies, and unfortunately, Otis has been killed.

We all went to where Otis was buried for the service. It was all very sad.

When the service ended, the guys started up the search party for Sophia right away. Since Rick and Shane weren't well enough to go out into the woods, Daryl decided to go alone.

While he got ready, I went to him.

"Hey." I said, walking up behind him.

"Hey."

"So…you're going out alone?" I asked, leaning against a tree.

"That's the plan."

"Are you sure you want to go alone? I…I'll go with you." I offered, crossing my arms over my chest.

Daryl slowly turned around to face me.

"Don't get offended." He said, raising a hand.

"Okay."

"I can't have you coming with me and reacting the way you did last night. I'll be too distracted. That won't help me…_us_ find Sophia." Daryl told me honestly, and as nicely as he could.

"…I understand." I looked down. "I'm sorry about that. I really don't know…I really didn't mean to get so squeamish and weak. If it makes you feel any better…I was really embarrassed. I still am."

"Don't be. It's fine." Daryl insisted, holding his crossbow over one shoulder.

"Well, good luck then. I'll see you later." I said, waving once.

"Yeah. See you." Daryl nodded at me.

I watched him walk off towards the front of the farmhouse.

When he had disappeared from sight, I went to find Lori and Carol. I suggested that we do some laundry or set up camp. I figured it would be good for us to spend some time together decompressing what with Carl's shooting and Sophia's disappearance. They seemed to agree.

"I'm just so glad that everyone is okay." I said as we started pitching tents.

I suddenly remembered Sophia, and looked over at Carol.

"I am so sorry." I said, giving her an apologetic look.

"Don't be. I'm glad that Carl is recovering, that T-Dog got medical attention, that Shane returned safely…I'm glad that everyone is…okay." Carol replied, smiling.

"So, Cheyenne, spill." Lori said suddenly.

"Spill?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Daryl!" She exclaimed, grinning.

"Oh…well…there's really nothing to tell…" I said slowly, paying very close attention to the tent I was raising.

"I'm not buying it. How about you, Carol?"

"Not at all." Carol said, laughing.

"Okay. Okay. You got me." I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. "I don't know…it's hard to explain…"

I told them about the night Daryl had come to my room. They about keeled over laughing when I shared that Daryl had fallen asleep before we had a chance to do anything. I told them about the few moments he had been sweet to me, but the few times he hadn't been nice to me either.

"It sounds to me like Daryl likes you." Carol said, helping me finish the tent.

"Really?"

"Don't you remember when little boys would pick on little girls that they liked?" Lori asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"I guess."

"Well," Carol sighed, "it looks like we've done all we can do here. I'm going back to see if Sophia found our message and supplies."

"I'll go with you, Carol." I said, following her.

"Do you mind if I stay with Carl?" Lori asked.

"Of course not." Carol replied.

I walked with Carol to go and see who would come with us.

0o0o0

Carol stood in front of the painted car, staring at the message. She was fixated on it and the untouched supplies. She had been staring at it since we arrived.

I watched Shane and Andrea walking down below the guardrail. I had a sneaking suspicion that something was going on between them. It was the way they looked at each other so lustfully.

"Carol, will you tell me more about Sophia?" I asked, standing beside her.

"Sophia loved art. She loved to paint, to draw…she loved doing anything that involved being creative and using lots of colors. She used to make drawings for all of our friends and family members for their birthdays and other holidays." Carol said with a faraway smile.

"What did she like to draw?"

"She liked to draw…fantasy things. She was always drawing fairies, unicorns, castles…those were her favorite things to draw."

"I can definitely picture that." I said, smiling.

Suddenly, Carol's shoulders began to quiver.

"Carol?" I asked quietly, placing a hand on her back.

"Whenever…whenever Ed and I would have a fight…it was like Sophia always knew. Even when she…even when she wasn't around…she always knew. I would find a picture of…a unicorn in my purse or a drawing of a princess on my pillow…"

Carol began to sob.

"Carol…"

She threw her arms around me, and I held her tightly.

"That girl…means everything to me. Everything." She cried against me.

"I know, Carol. I know."

"If she…if we don't find her…"

"Carol," I held her away from me, "you can't think like that. You have to be positive. You have to."

"It's so hard, Cheyenne." She whispered.

"I know. You just have to imagine Sophia safe and sound somewhere and hold onto that image. You just have to hang on until we find her or until she finds us."

Carol hugged me again, crying quietly. I held our embrace until her tears ended.

We sat together on the ground in front of the car, not saying anything. Carol held my hand in her lap, stroking my knuckles and fingers. It reminded me of something my mom would have done.

I reached up with my free hand and touched the silver chain around my neck. I always kept the charm carefully tucked inside of my shirt so that it wouldn't catch on anything and be ripped from my neck.

"What is that?" Carol asked, breaking the silence.

"This?" I motioned to my necklace. "It used to be my mom's. She gave it to me before she died."

I pulled my necklace out to show it to Carol.

"It's beautiful." Carol said, lightly touching the charm.

"It's a daylily." I said with a smile. "My mom's name was Lily, so my dad planted daylilies for her at their first house. They used to bloom so beautifully in the spring and summer."

"That's a sweet story." Carol said, returning my smile.

"My parents were sweet. More specifically, they were high school sweethearts. Grandma Adams used to tell me stories about how inseparable my parents were as teenagers."

"That's a hoot."

"They used to gross me out and embarrass me when I was younger. My parents were very affectionate. As I got older, I appreciated it. It was nice that my parents loved each other so much."

I leaned back against the car and closed my eyes.

I could see an old picture of my parents in my mind. It was their prom picture. My dad wore a white tuxedo jacket and black dress pants. His dark brown hair was visibly greased. My mom wore a shiny, yellow dress. Her light brown hair was curled into an updo from the time period. They looked so happy.

"Cheyenne, would you mind if I spent some time on the RV by myself? I want to get it cleaned up and looking nice for Sophia." Carol said suddenly, getting to her feet.

"That sounds like a great idea. I'll be right out here."

I remained where I was, watching Carol get onto the RV.

I felt horribly for Carol. I knew where my parents, and even my dog, were. Carol had no idea where her daughter was, what kind of shape she was in, or if she was ever going to see her again.

I missed Sophia. I missed her mere presence. It had been nice having a kid around.

"Come back to us, Sophia." I murmured, folding my hands in my lap.

0o0o0

That night, I set up my tent a little ways away from the group. I wanted my space. I needed it. I would go crazy if I was set up in between their tents.

As I finished, I noticed Cheyenne still sitting up by the fire. Everyone else had pretty much dispersed. Then, I saw her using her flannel shirt as a pillow.

I frowned as I walked down the hill and towards the fire.

"What are you doing?" I asked, watching her sit back up when I approached.

"Um…sleeping?" Cheyenne replied, giving me a strange look.

"Why are you sleeping out in the open by the fire?"

"I don't have a tent." She said simply.

I snorted.

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Come on." I waved to her, starting back towards my tent.

"Really?" She asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Would I offer if I wasn't serious?" I asked, turning back around.

"I guess not."

"Hurry up before I change my mind."

Cheyenne followed me up the hill. When we got to my tent, I immediately got inside of it. I was taking off my boots when Cheyenne slowly crawled inside.

"I can unzip my sleeping bag and leave it opened up for us to lay on. I have a blanket that we can use to cover up with if you want." I told her, unlacing my second boot.

"Sure." She said meekly, shoving her knapsack into one corner of the tent.

"Cheyenne, are you going to be weird about this? I can go sleep outside if you want, or you can go back to the fire. It's up to you." I told her with a sigh.

"Would I come if I was weird about it?" Cheyenne asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Touché." I said with a smirk.

While I got our bed ready, Cheyenne shimmied out of her jeans. She wore only her flannel shirt and a pair of plain, black underwear. I watched as she unbraided her hair and shook it out. Her wavy hair fell down her back and collected behind her.

"What?" She asked, noticing my stare.

"Nothing." I said, laying down on the open sleeping bag.

Cheyenne laid down a few inches away from me. Her arm brushed mine as she laid down.

"Can I be honest with you about something?" She asked suddenly, half sitting back up.

"Okay?" I furrowed my brow.

"You're a mystery to me. Like, sometimes you can be really sweet, but other times, you're a real jerk. It's just hard to gauge where I stand with you. You're just…a frickin' mystery." Cheyenne said, smacking her leg when she said that last part.

"Don't take it so personally. I'm like that with everyone. It's just how I am."

"I don't mean to take it personally…I just want to be…I don't know…"

"What?"

"I don't want out relationship, whatever it is, to be like your relationship with everybody else. Even if we're just good friends for the rest of our lives, I want it to be…good."

"I just can't change who I am, Cheyenne." I said, propping myself up on my elbow.

"I'm not asking you to change who you are." Cheyenne shook her head, and laid back down next to me. "Just tell me one thing: do you like me as a person?"

"Yes." I answered honestly.

"Okay." She nodded once.

"I'm a mystery, huh?" I asked with a grin.

"Yes!" Cheyenne rolled over to face me. "I'd like to get to know you. I want to know who you are, who your favorite band is, what your favorite food is, what your childhood was like…I just want to get to know you."

"You already know who my favorite band is. My favorite food is anything that I can catch in the woods. My childhood sucked." I flipped onto my back. "Your turn."

"Wow. I feel like I've known you a lifetime." Cheyenne said sarcastically, rolling onto her back too.

"Your turn, lady."

"My favorite singer is Elvis Presley. I love my mom's peach cobbler and my dad's venison stew. My childhood was really happy. I was very blessed."

"Elvis Presley?" I asked, making a face.

"You don't like Elvis?" Cheyenne asked, turning her head to gape at me.

"Hell no." I answered in a higher pitched voice.

"'Heartbreak Hotel'? 'Jailhouse Rock'? 'All Shook Up'? 'Can't Help Falling In Love'-"

"You can lay there all night and name every single Elvis song you can think of. I still won't like his music by the time the sun rises."

"You suck." Cheyenne said, turning her head away from me.

"Elvis sucks." I replied with a chuckle.

"Shut up, jerk." Cheyenne said, shoving me a little. "I love Elvis."

"Don't tell me to shut up, Cheyenne Louise."

"What are you gonna do about it, Elvis hater?"

Without a word, I reached over and had Cheyenne in a headlock. With my other hand, I formed a fist and began messing up her hair.

"Do you give?" I asked after a few minutes of her struggling to get away from me.

"Okay! Okay!" She shouted, pushing against me.

"Okay what?"

"I'm sorry for telling you to shut up!"

I removed my fist from her hair, laughing at the mess I had made.

"You're such a jerk." Cheyenne muttered, laying one hand on my chest.

"Do you want me to change my mind?" I asked, lifting my fist.

"No!" She exclaimed, shrinking back.

"That's what I thought." I said smugly.

I hadn't pulled my arm out from around Cheyenne. It felt nice having her close to me. Her hair still smelled faintly like the citrus shampoo from the CDC. I felt the weight of her hand on my chest.

"Venison stew and peach cobbler, huh? When are you going to have me over for dinner?"

"Oh my god. If you would have ridden up to my parents' house on that motorcycle, my dad would have shot you." Cheyenne replied seriously.

"Well then, when are _you_ going to make me that stuff?"

"Why should I?"

"I thought you said that you wanted our relationship to be good. Don't you want to bribe me with a delicious meal and dessert?" I asked, running my hand up and down her arm.

"Hmm. I hadn't thought about it that way." Cheyenne mumbled tiredly.

"Go to sleep, Cheyenne." I murmured, continuing to stroke her arm.

"…mmm? But we were talking." She argued sleepily.

"We can talk tomorrow. Go to sleep." I urged her quietly.

Cheyenne snuggled in closer to me. I could feel her breath on my shoulder.

After only a few minutes, I could tell she was asleep. Her breathing had evened out. Her hand felt lighter on my chest.

I knew I had some sort of feelings for Cheyenne. I thought she was very pretty, possibly one of the prettiest girls I'd ever known. I cared about her. I didn't know how deep my feelings ran. I didn't know what to call them or where to put them in my life as a survivor.

In that moment, all I knew was that having Cheyenne in my tent, with her head on my shoulder and my arm around her body…it was the best moment I'd had since the outbreak.

With that feeling inside, I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

0o0o0

The next morning, I woke up alone. It was déjà vu all over again. It was the second time I had fallen asleep with Daryl and woken up alone. I liked it less the second time.

After I got dressed and freshened up, I went to the main camp to figure out what was going on. I didn't see Daryl anywhere.

"Good morning, Carol." I said, finding her hanging laundry with Lori.

"Good morning, naughty girl." Carol wagged a finger at me. "If you were my daughter…"

"What?" I asked with a small smile.

"Don't 'what' me. I just saw you coming from Daryl's tent." She continued what she was doing, but smiled while she did it. "He was up and out of here early this morning."

"He was? Where?"

"To look for Sophia."

"Oh…good." I replied.

"So, is there anything you want to tell us?" Lori asked, eyeing me.

"No. Nothing happened. I swear." I said, holding up my hands.

"I believe you, Cheyenne." Carol said, turning back to me. "I was just talking to Lori, and we decided that it might be a nice gesture to cook dinner for Hershel and his family. They've done so much for us, and the least we can do is provide them with a nice meal."

"That's a great idea. I feel stupid for having not thought of that." I admitted sheepishly.

"You're not stupid, Cheyenne. Your thoughts are consumed with something else…some_one_ else." Lori said wickedly.

"I'm never telling you ladies anything ever again." I threatened.

"Liar."

"So, what do you say? Are you in?" Carol asked.

"I'm in on one condition." I said, a thought racing through my mind.

"What's that?"

"Can I make dessert?"

"Of course! I thought you were going to say we couldn't have girl talk anymore." Carol smiled.

"I should have thought of that first." I said with a laugh.

When Carol and Lori were ready, we headed into the house to start prepping for dinner. We had to make do with what we had. Carol found enough ingredients to make baked ham. Lori was going to make mashed potatoes and green beans for sides. I had to search for quite a while before I found what I needed to make my dessert, but was lucky enough to find everything I needed.

"Cheyenne, will you help me with the ham?" Carol asked, holding a huge ham.

"Sure." I said, joining her at the island.

"This is a recipe my mother taught me when I was old enough to cook." Carol told me, setting the ham down on the island.

"That's great. I bet it'll be really good." I said enthusiastically.

"First, we make the paste that's going to cover the ham."

Carol had one mixing bowl. Next to it were two, half pound bags of brown sugar and a jar of yellow mustard. She handed me the mustard.

"Go ahead and measure out half a cup of that. You can use this spoon," Carol handed me a regular sized spoon, "and measure out about eight of those. That ought to do it."

"Okay."

I started measuring out eight spoonfuls of mustard. I plopped each one into the bowl as Carol slowly poured in both bags of brown sugar.

"Would you rather mix up the paste or trim the excess fat off of the ham?" Carol asked.

"Um…I'll mix. I don't want to trim away too much fat." I said, taking a wooden spoon from her.

"Did you ever cook with your mom?" Carol asked, setting her sights on the ham.

"Sometimes. I really just liked watching her. She loved cooking and baking, and she was so good at it. It was fascinating to…watch her make food." I laughed. "That sounds ridiculous."

"No it doesn't." Carol said quietly.

"I'm glad you understand."

I mixed up the brown sugar and mustard until it was thick and spreadable. By the time I had finished, Carol had trimmed up the ham to her liking.

"Okay. I'm going to foil this pan, and when it's done, just spread that mixture over the ham." Carol instructed, foil already in hand.

"Sounds good."

I watched Carol foil the pan. When she had finished, and set the ham inside of the foiled pan, I used the wooden spoon to slather the brown sugar-mustard paste over the ham.

"That's great, Cheyenne." Carol said, satisfied.

"Now what?"

"That's it." Carol smiled as she picked up the pan. "Will you open the oven door?"

I quickly went to the oven and opened the door.

"Thank you."

Carol slid the pan into the hot oven.

"It'll bake for four hours and sit for one." Carol said, shutting the oven door.

"I can't wait to eat some of that ham."

Suddenly, Carol enveloped me in a warm hug. She wasn't crying.

"Thank you for helping me. Thank you for…"

"You're welcome." I murmured, feeling her hand rubbing my back.

Something told me that cooking with Carol had meant a lot to her. She had passed down a recipe that her mother had taught her.

Carol finally released me, smiling.

"Now, can I help you with your dessert?"

0o0o0

I was getting worried about Daryl when he didn't return as dinnertime was fast approaching. The ham had only one more hour left to bake.

I sat outside with the others, just relaxing with them. Andrea was keeping watch while the rest of us soaked up the sunlight and enjoyed the feeling of not having to worry about our safety.

That feeling melted away the moment Andrea called out to warn us that a walker was approaching.

Immediately, everyone sprang into action.

"Just the one?" Rick asked, running to the RV.

Andrea looked through her binoculars for a moment.

"I bet I can nail it from here." She said smugly, grabbing her shotgun.

"No, Andrea. Put the gun down."

"You'd best let us handle this." Shane said, pickaxe in hand.

I turned towards the woods. I could see a figure walking in our direction in the distance. It was hard to make out what the figure looked like, or even what sex it was.

I watched the men gathering their weapons, and felt cowardly for a moment. The times I had been in contact with a walker, I hadn't exactly had the best reactions. If I continued behaving that way, I was going to get someone else or myself killed. I had to learn how to control my fear.

"Rick?" I said, walking towards him.

"What's up, Cheyenne?" He asked.

"This is going to sound like a strange request, but would you take me out there and let me take care of the walker?"

"What?"

"Look, this group has had way more experience than I have when it comes to dealing with walkers. I haven't had the chance to really get up close and personal, keep my composure, and react accordingly. I need to learn, and there's only one coming our way."

Rick looked down at the ground.

"Rick?" Shane asked, pickaxe over one shoulder.

"…okay. Okay." Rick finally said, handing me his revolver. "You wait until we're up close."

"I will. I'll do whatever you tell me to." I promised.

"Come on."

Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and I started running in the direction of the walker. I held the revolver tightly in my hand as I ran. I didn't want to drop it or fire it accidentally.

As we got closer, we slowed down.

"Alright, Cheyenne, are you ready?" Rick asked, breathing heavily from the run.

I stared at the walker. Immediately, I knew that something was wrong. Even though it was still a ways off, I knew that we weren't in the presence of a walker.

"Daryl." I breathed, watching him limp towards us.

"Cheyenne?" Rick asked, his hand on my shoulder.

"Rick, it's Daryl." I told him, unable to take my eyes off of Daryl's form.

"Daryl?" Rick asked, shocked.

"Andrea said it was a walker. She's got the binoculars. I think she would have been able to tell the difference between a walker and Daryl." Shane said.

"It's not a walker. It's Daryl." I argued.

"What if you're wrong?" Shane quipped.

"What if you're wrong?" I repeated him, bordering on anger.

The sound of a gunshot stopped our argument, and my heart. As I turned to look at Daryl, my eyes widened when I saw that he was on the ground. Andrea had shot Daryl.

"Daryl!" I screamed, my throat burning from the intensity of it.

I took off in a sprint, dropping Rick's revolver along the way. I fell hard on my knees beside Daryl's fallen form, tears already spilling down my cheeks.

Daryl's face was covered in blood.

"Daryl?" I lightly touched his face.

I was suddenly grabbed and pulled backward at the same time that Rick and Shane were on the ground on either side of Daryl.

"Let go of me, T-Dog." I said, struggling against his hands.

"Calm down, Cheyenne. I just wanted Rick and Shane to look Daryl over." T-Dog explained.

"He's alive." Rick said finally, looking up at us.

"Oh my god." I murmured, placing a hand on my chest when T-Dog let go of me.

"Andrea's bullet grazed the side of his head."

"Come on, let's get him to the house. He's pretty banged up." Shane said.

T-Dog and I stood aside as Rick and Shane got Daryl to his feet. I wasn't sure if he was conscious or not. If he was, he was dazed.

Suddenly, I noticed that Andrea, Dale, and Glenn were tearing across the field towards us.

"Oh my god! Is he dead?!" Andrea cried.

My anger towards Andrea boiled over. First, it was her attitude towards Dale. Then, it was her rudeness on the RV when T-Dog was sick in bed. Nearly killing Daryl because she couldn't listen to Rick was the final straw.

"He is alive, no thanks to you." I snapped, marching towards Andrea.

"Cheyenne-"

"Dale, I'm not angry with you, please stay out of it." I said as kindly as I could manage, though I knew I did a poor job. I turned towards Andrea again. "What the hell is the matter with you? Rick told you not to fire at the walker, but you did anyways!"

"Cheyenne, I'm sorry. I really thought it was a walker." Andrea replied, sounding guilty.

"How? How did you not see that it was Daryl through the binoculars?"

"There was a glare-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you telling me that you shot someone when your only visual was compromised?" I started towards Andrea, but T-Dog held one of my arms. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?! You could have killed him!"

"Cheyenne, you need to relax. It was a mistake. I won't let it happen again." Andrea said coolly.

"Do _not_ tell me to relax. I am reacting to this situation correctly. _You're_ the one who reacted incorrectly. So what, you think now that because you stand watch you're a gunslinger? I have news for you. You aren't."

"Andrea, let's go." Dale murmured quietly, holding Andrea's arms.

Andrea glared at me, and I knew she wanted to say something mean and hurtful. Instead, she walked with Dale back to camp.

"Damn, Cheyenne." T-Dog said, releasing my arm. "I thought you were going to smack her."

"Don't be silly, T-Dog," I looked at him very seriously, "I was going to punch her."


	6. Sophia

**Chapter Six: Sophia**

When T-Dog and I returned to camp, he took me straight to the farmhouse steps to sit down. Though I hadn't noticed, he told me that I was shaking pretty badly.

"I'm gonna get you some water, Cheyenne. Just stay put." He said gently, resting a hand on my shoulder for a moment.

I buried my face in my hands, trying to control my body's reaction to Daryl's near death experience. I felt so many emotions coursing through me. I was battling the red hot anger I felt for Andrea and the fear I felt to the core of my being for what could have happened had Andrea killed Daryl.

"Cheyenne?"

I looked up to see Carol standing in front of me. Her expression was full of concern.

"Honey, what happened?" She asked, taking a seat beside me.

I began to cry like I had before, and Carol just pulled me into a hug. She slowly rocked me back and forth, her face pressed against the top of my head.

"Hush, Cheyenne, hush." Carol whispered.

_"Hush, baby." My mom cooed, her fingers running through my hair._

"Mama." I choked out, crying into Carol's neck.

"Shh. It's okay, Cheyenne. It's okay."

"Why do we even bother, Carol?" I managed to ask through my tears.

"With what, honey?"

"Why do we even bother to care about each other? Everyone we love has been lost to us or taken from us or turned into a goddamned walker. Why do we even bother caring for anyone else in this god forsaken world?"

"Oh, honey," Carol pulled me away from her to look at me, "you can't think like that. You can't stop feeling your emotions or caring for other people. You just can't."

"Daryl…" I murmured, closing my eyes.

"Did something happen to Daryl?" Carol asked worriedly, petting my head.

"I almost lost him."

"Oh, Cheyenne."

"Cheyenne?" T-Dog's voice came from behind me.

"Thank you, T-Dog." Carol said.

I looked up from the stairs to see Carol handing me a glass of water. T-Dog was sitting a step above us.

"Rick told me to tell you that Daryl is going to be fine. Hershel is patching him up right now." T-Dog said comfortingly.

"Thank goodness." Carol said.

"I need to tell you something too." T-Dog said, turning to Carol. "Daryl found Sophia's doll."

"What?"

"Yeah. He found her doll out in the woods."

"Carol…" I murmured, setting my water down.

"That's…that's great." Carol said, a big smile coming to her face. "Isn't that great? That means Daryl has picked up on Sophia's trail again."

"Yeah. That's great news." I agreed, nodding.

"Anyways, Hershel says Daryl needs some time to rest before he has visitors. You'll be able to see him later tonight." T-Dog told me, his hand on my shoulder again. "In the meantime, don't go starting fights with Andrea. Especially if I'm not around."

"Andrea? What do you mean?" Carol asked, confused.

"About that…" I muttered, picking up my water.

0o0o0

When dinner was served, I barely had an appetite. If Carol hadn't made the ham, I wouldn't have eaten at all. I forced myself to eat at least one full slice of ham to make her happy.

"How is it?" She asked excitedly from beside me.

"It's really good, Carol. Really good." I told her, chewing on a bite.

"I myself can't wait for dessert." She said, helping herself to green beans.

"Don't get too excited. My mom's was better."

"I'm sure it'll be wonderful."

I managed to eat an entire slice of ham. When I finished, I excused myself to take Daryl a tray of food. I hadn't seen him since the accident, and had been anxiously waiting to visit him in the downstairs guest bedroom.

I carried the tray to the bedroom, and took a deep breath before pushing open the door.

"Daryl?" I asked softly, standing in the open doorway.

He turned over to face me, bandaging wrapped around his head. Seeing him awake and okay sent a sense of calm and relief flowing through me. I smiled immediately.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, shutting the door behind me.

"As good as I look." He answered simply, rolling back over.

"I brought you dinner." I told him, setting the tray down on the nightstand. "I made-"

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh…"

I watched him lying there, refusing to look at me. I wondered if he was upset with me or if he was just cranky and in pain. I carefully leaned over him, and he visibly flinched. I almost didn't after he winced, but pressed a kiss into his cheek.

"Watch out. I got stitches." He said after I pulled away.

"I'm sorry." I said quickly, my hand on the doorknob. "I just want to tell you something, and then I'll go. I'm really…I'm really glad that you're okay. I was really worried about you…well, anyways, I'm just-"

"Glad that I'm okay?" Daryl asked, turning over to look at me.

"Yeah." I opened the door. "I know you aren't hungry, but I just wanted you to know that I made my mom's peach cobbler for you tonight. It probably won't be as good as hers, in fact I know it won't be, but I hope that if you eat it, that you like it."

Daryl looked over at the tray.

"Goodnight, Daryl."

I left before he could say anything, though I figured he probably wouldn't, and headed outside.

"Cheyenne!" Carol called to me as I walked towards Daryl's tent.

I turned around and waited for Carol to catch up to me.

"First of all, your peach cobbler was delicious. Everyone else thought so too." Carol said with a smile.

"Thanks. I'm glad you liked it."

"Cheyenne, are you sure you want to stay in Daryl's tent by yourself? You're always welcome to bunk with me if you want."

"Thanks for the offer, Carol. I just…I think I need some time alone right now. It's been a long day."

"I understand. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Okay."

Carol leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

"Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight."

I went to Daryl's tent. It was just how I left it that morning.

I changed my clothes before I settled down on top of the open sleeping bag. I looked up at the tent ceiling, thinking about the past. I couldn't help it. After almost losing Daryl, my thoughts automatically drifted to my parents.

"_Daddy, they're saying that this thing is global now." I said, my eyes glued to the TV._

"_Shut that thing off will you, Shy? Your mother and I want to talk to you." My dad said from the kitchen._

"_Sure, Daddy." I said, flipping the TV off._

_I got up off the couch and went into the kitchen. My parents were sitting at the breakfast table. My mom looked like she had been crying._

"_What's wrong, Mama?" I asked, sitting down across from her._

"_Cheyenne, your mother and I have been talking. We've been trying to figure out a way that the three of us can make it out of this situation alive and together." My dad said, covering my mom's hand with his own. "Honey, we're just not coming to a conclusion in which that's possible."_

"_What are you saying?"_

"_Your father and I want you to make it out of this. We want you to get out of Macon and find a safe haven somewhere. We want you to run, and to not be tied down to us." My mom said, her voice quavering slightly._

"_Tied down to you? Mama, you're my parents. What do you want me to do? Just leave you both here to die?"_

_My parents were quiet. I looked at both of their faces and realized that was exactly what they wanted me to do._

"_It's okay, Cheyenne." My dad said, seeing the expression on my face._

"_Daddy." I said, tears starting to well up in my eyes._

"_Shy…it's going to be alright." He assured me, reaching across the table towards me._

"_Daddy!" I cried, beginning to sob._

_My mom got up from the table and came to me. She started running her fingers through my hair as I cried at the table, unable to look at either of my parents._

"_Hush, baby."_

I still couldn't believe that my parents were gone. Sometimes, I caught myself thinking about what would happen when the walker disease was cured. I thought about going home to Macon, and finding my parents sitting on the front porch waiting for me.

"I miss you, Daddy. I miss you, Mama." I whispered in the dark.

0o0o0

The next morning, I did all of Daryl's laundry, not that he had much. When it was finished, I took it back to the tent to fold and set aside. As I folded, I sang quietly to myself to fill the silence.

"If you think I don't love you, what could I do to prove it to you, baby? My love is true. I sing the same old song since you've been gone. If you think I don't love you, then baby you're wrong. My life ain't been the same since you left me-"

"Elvis?"

I whipped around, startled. Daryl was hunched over behind me.

"Daryl, what are you doing up?" I asked, turning around to face him.

"I'm fine. I want to be out here."

"Oh…well, I washed all of your clothes. They're in that pile there." I pointed to the pile of Daryl's folded clothes.

"Thanks."

"Sure. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Nope. I think I'm just going to hang out in the tent." Daryl said, slowly laying down on the sleeping bag. "I want to be by myself."

"Oh…sure." I said, trying to hide my sadness and confusion.

I expected him to say something else, but he didn't He just closed his eyes and laid there.

I left the tent. I didn't know where I was going or what I was going to do. I just started walking. Luckily for me, T-Dog jogged up to me.

"Hey, Cheyenne. A bunch of us are going out to practice shooting. I remembered you asking for a chance to shoot yesterday. Want to come?"

"Sure. That sounds perfect."

"Come on. We're leaving now."

I followed T-Dog to the cars. I got into the Jeep beside him. We drove out a little ways to the fields. Rick and Shane were already setting up bottles on the fence. I assumed they would be our targets.

When we got out, I realized, embarrassed, that I was the only one without a gun.

"What are you most comfortable shooting with?" Rick asked, also noticing that I was gunless.

"Um, the only gun I've ever fired was my dad's handgun. It was a 40 caliber Smith and Wesson. I only fired it a few times, though." I admitted, feeling foolish and inexperienced.

"That's fine. You can use my revolver. It's the one I gave you yesterday." Rick handed me his revolver. "Do you think you can manage that?"

"I'll try."

"Just show us what you've got. Take your time. Shane and I will help you out with some tips once we've seen you shoot."

I held the revolver the same way my dad had showed me how to hold his handgun. I gripped it tightly enough to where it shook in my hand, and then released it slightly. My dad taught me not to put my finger on the trigger until I had a shot lined up. I aimed the revolver at a red bottle on the fence.

Suddenly, a gun fired beside me. Startled, I jumped, and lowered the revolver.

"I'm sorry. I was startled." I said, embarrassed.

"That's okay, but it's something you're going to have to get used to. You have to learn to tune out the gunfire around you." Rick said from behind me. "Just put all of your focus onto one of the bottles. Don't think about anything else."

I held the revolver the same way as before. I aimed at the same bottle. I took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger. The sound and the recoil startled me just like the other gunshot had. I completely missed the bottle, but saw a bullet hole in the fence beneath it.

"See what you did?" Rick asked, coming up beside me. "The sound and the recoil startled you, so you pulled the gun down."

"You can't pull the trigger. You have to squeeze it." Shane said.

"Here, watch this."

Rick took the revolver from me.

"You're holding the gun perfectly. Watch how I squeeze the trigger."

I watched Rick's finger. Rather than pull all the way back with it, he slowly squeezed the trigger. The sound was still the same, but the recoil wasn't as bad.

I looked to see that the red bottle had shattered.

"Try again. Just remember to take your time. There's no reason to rush right now. This is just practice." Rick assured me, handing the revolver over.

"You have to get used to being rushed eventually. Out there, walkers aren't going to stand still like those bottles." Shane said, moving on.

"Just take your time." Rick reiterated, patting my shoulder.

I nodded, and lined up my shot again.

0o0o0

I slept with Carol that night after I decided that Daryl probably wouldn't want me to share his tent again. He hadn't talked to me since he asked for time alone. I didn't know what his feelings were, why he wanted to be away from me, but I respected his request.

In the morning, I helped Carol make breakfast for everyone. We made a huge skillet of eggs for everyone to share.

"Here's a plate. Go sit down." Carol said when everyone else had been served.

"Thanks, Carol." I said, taking the plate full of eggs from her.

If Daryl was speaking to me, I would have sat on the ground next to his camp chair. Instead, I sat down next to Carl. I hadn't really talked with him much since Sophia's disappearance. I hadn't meant to forget about him, but my mind had been consumed with Sophia and Daryl's ever changing attitude towards me.

"Good morning, Carl. How are you today?" I asked, smiling.

"Oh, you know, doing okay." He answered, sounding much more grown up than he ought to have.

"That's good. I'm glad to hear it." I said, amused by his response. "So, I saw you shooting yesterday. You were pretty awesome, much better than me."

"Yeah, well-"

"Um, guys." Glenn said suddenly, standing in the center of our group. "The barn is full of walkers."

My eyes widened immediately.

Walkers in the barn? Why was Hershel keeping walkers in the barn?

It didn't take long for everyone to make their way to the barn. Shane was elected to take a closer look. He approached the barn, peeking through the cracks to see inside of it. He suddenly moved away at one point, and I could hear growling coming from inside of the barn.

"You can't tell me you're alright with this." Shane said, clearly directing his statement at Rick.

"No I'm not, but we're guests here. This isn't our land." Rick answered, staring at the barn.

"This is our lives!"

"Lower your voice." Glenn murmured.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug." Andrea said.

"What do you propose we do? Hershel already has strict rules about how we handle walkers and about us carrying guns. How do you think he'll react if we bust into his barn, guns blazing, and take down all those walkers?" I asked, turning towards Andrea.

"Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right, or we've just got to go." Shane said, ignoring my question. "Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time-"

"We can't go." Rick interrupted.

"Why, Rick? Why?"

"Because my daughter is still out there." Carol said, horrified by Shane's lapse in judgement.

"Okay. Okay. I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility."

"What if it was your child out there?" I snapped angrily, not believing what I was hearing.

"We're not leaving Sophia behind." Rick said, finality in his tone.

"I'm close to finding this girl. I just found her damn doll two days ago." Daryl said, finally speaking up.

"You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll." Shane replied coldly.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about." Daryl growled, starting for Shane.

"I'm just saying what needs to be said."

"No. You're being an inconsiderate, self-centered asshole!" I exclaimed, my blood boiling.

"Shane, stop." Rick urged his friend.

"Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction."

Daryl tried to grab at Shane, but Rick was in between them, holding them back.

I held Carol, who was wide eyed with horror and disgust at the scene in front of her. Though I wanted to strike Shane myself, I knew my place was comforting and protecting Carol.

"It's okay, Carol. It's okay." I assured her softly. "We're not going to leave. We're staying put."

"Cheyenne…" She whispered, leaning on me.

"Come on, Carol. Let's take a walk." I suggested.

"No…I…I need to be alone." Carol mumbled, walking away from me.

I turned back towards the group. They were slowly dispersing. Only Shane remained standing in front of the barn, as if he thought the doors would bust open at any moment.

"Hey." I said, walking towards him.

Shane didn't answer. He didn't turn.

"Hey!" I called, stopping a few feet from where he stood.

Shane still didn't respond.

"I don't care if your instincts as a cop are telling you that Sophia is lost for good or dead. The rest of us want to find that little girl, and we won't stop until we do."

"Shut up, Cheyenne." Shane muttered, turning his head to look at me. "You don't know the first thing about any of that."

"I might not, but I do know this," I took several steps towards him, "if you _ever_ say any of those things in Carol's presence again, I'll shoot you in your sleep."

With that, I turned, and headed back to camp.

On my way back, I saw Daryl heading into the stables with a saddle. I watched as he struggled to lift the saddle onto its station. I rushed inside of the stables.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." He replied through grit teeth.

"You're not fine. You're still healing." I said, approaching him.

"Sophia is out there. None of these other assholes are going to find her. If I don't go out there and look for her, that girl isn't going to be found." Daryl said harshly.

"Daryl, you won't be able to find her if you get sick or get hurt out in the woods and can't move-"

"Shut up, Cheyenne!" Daryl shouted angrily, knocking over the saddle.

Daryl groaned in pain. He bent over, his hands on his knees.

"Daryl." I went to his side, placing a hand on his back. "Can you stand?"

"Yes." He answered, groaning again as he stood.

"Daryl…what did I do? Why don't you want anything to do with me anymore?" I asked, hating myself when I became tearful. "Did I say something? Did I do something?"

"Cheyenne…" Daryl looked away from me.

"Please tell me." I begged quietly.

When he didn't say anything, I raised a hand to his face. When my hand touched him, he returned his gaze to mine.

"Daryl…" I whispered.

Daryl leaned down towards me, his lips finding mine as my eyes fluttered closed. He raised both hands to my face. I could feel the dirt and grit on them, but I didn't care. I reveled in the feeling of his calloused hands on my face, his slightly chapped lips kissing mine.

I wrapped my other arm around Daryl's neck, pulling him closer to me. When I did, he pulled away and hissed in pain.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry." I apologized, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"It's okay." He replied softly, his blue eyes flickering up to meet mine. "Cheyenne…"

"What?" I asked breathlessly.

"I got dirt on your face." He said with a sly smile, raising his knuckles to my face.

"That's okay." I insisted as he gently cleaned the dirt off. "Daryl?"

"What?"

"Will you spend some time with me today? Hershel has a really nice pond on his property. We could go sit by it and talk. I would really like that."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to spend time with me?"

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you think I would want to spend time with you?"

"I don't know." Daryl replied simply.

I took a step back from Daryl.

"I like you, you idiot! I like you!" I exclaimed.

I didn't wait for any kind of response or rebuttal. I left Daryl in the barn while I went to sort out my thoughts.

0o0o0

I was sitting on the porch with Carol, along with Maggie, Glenn, Carl, Beth, and Patricia when T-Dog and Andrea showed up looking like they were on a mission.

"Do you know what's going on?" T-Dog asked Glenn, who had stood up from the steps.

"Where is everyone?" Andrea asked, sounding out of breath.

"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn asked, confused.

"He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago."

"Yeah you were. What the hell?"

I looked to see Daryl suddenly joining the group collecting in front of the farmhouse.

"Rick told us he was going out." Andrea answered.

"Damn it. Isn't anybody taking this seriously? We got us a damn trail!" Daryl snapped angrily. "Oh, here we go."

Shane suddenly appeared with the bag of guns. It seemed that everyone was joining together in a fit of confusion and anger.

"What's all this?" Daryl asked, pointing at Shane's shotgun.

"You with me, man?" Shane asked.

"Yeah." Daryl answered, taking the shotgun from him.

"Time to grow up."

"Where's Dale?" Andrea asked.

"He's on his way." Shane said, passing out guns to willing hands.

"Thought we couldn't carry." T-Dog said, though he took a gun.

"We can and we have to. Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it ain't." Shane approached Glenn. "How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?"

Glenn hesitated before he took the gun Shane offered to him.

"That's it." Shane turned to Maggie. "Can you shoot?"

"Can you stop?" Maggie replied, frustrated. "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay, Shane." Carl said suddenly, coming down the steps.

"What is this?"

I turned to see Lori approaching quickly.

"Carol, what should we do?" I asked quietly, turning towards her.

"I don't know, Cheyenne. I don't know what's going on." Carol replied, placing a hand on my knee.

I looked over at Daryl, who was still holding the shotgun Shane had given him. He was looking at me and Carol. I gave him a look of desperation, wanting his guidance. He looked away.

"Oh, shit." T-Dog muttered suddenly, looking at the woods.

I looked away from Daryl and immediately saw what T-Dog was seeing. Jimmy was leading Rick and Hershel out of the woods. Rick and Hershel had two walkers in their possession. I knew at once what they were doing. They were bringing the walkers to the barn.

Then, everyone was running towards them as fast as they could.

"Cheyenne…" Carol said, getting to her feet.

"Carol, let's stay here. I don't want to be anywhere near Shane right now." I told her, watching Shane running at Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy like a crazy person.

"What is wrong with him?" Carol murmured, watching the insane display too.

"I don't know. He's lost it."

The group collected in front of the barn, surrounding Hershel, Rick, and Jimmy. Shane was screaming. Then, suddenly, he was firing rounds into one of the walkers.

"Carol, come on." I said, grabbing her hand.

Carol and I hurried down the path to the barn as Shane fired more rounds into the same walker. Just as we reached the group, Shane shot the walker in the head, killing it. Hershel fell to his knees beside the body.

Everyone was watching Shane with horrified and unbelieving expressions.

"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!" Shane screamed, pacing back and forth in front of the barn.

"You son of a bitch!" I shouted, seeing Carol react to Shane's words out of the corner of my eye.

I couldn't believe that nobody else was trying to subdue Shane. They were all just watching him as he went on his crazy tirade. If nobody else was going to protect Carol, or the rest of the group for that matter, then I was going to try.

"Cheyenne, don't." Carol said, as if reading my mind.

She ensnared my arm, pulling my in close to her body.

Shane was trying to break the lock and chains on the barn doors. Nobody was doing anything to stop him or pull him away.

"Carol-"

"Cheyenne, he's a loose cannon." Carol muttered, sounding like a mother.

Rick was screaming for Shane to stop, but it didn't slow Shane down for a second. Before long, Shane had the barn doors opened.

As the walkers poured out, Shane, Andrea, and T-Dog took aim at the head of the pack.

"Stay here, Cheyenne." Carol said, holding me to her.

Daryl and Glenn joined in, though Glenn looked like he was fighting tears.

Though they were walkers, it was wrong. Rick had been right. It wasn't our land. We had no right to tell Hershel how to handle walkers on his property. Seeing that poor, old man kneeling on the ground was enough to bring angry tears to my eyes.

When the slaughter was over, everyone stood down. I could hear Hershel and Maggie crying.

I glared daggers at Shane, his back to me.

"Cheyenne…" Carol said, warning in her tone as I moved beneath her grip.

I gently, but sternly, threw her hands off of me.

"Cheyenne!" Carol called, trying to stop me from going after Shane.

"You evil son of a bitch!" I shouted, using all of my weight to shove Shane forward.

It didn't take Shane long to turn towards me, flinging me to the ground. I tripped over my feet on the way down, and fell directly on my face.

"Get your fuckin' hands off of her!" I heard Daryl roar.

I heard a struggle.

"Cheyenne!"

Carol was at my side in a second, helping me sit up.

"Are you…oh my god, Cheyenne, you're bleeding." Carol said worriedly, her fingers going to my nose. "Can somebody get me a cloth or something?"

"I'm fine, Carol. It's just a bloody nose." I assured her, wiping the blood away from my upper lip.

"Carol!" Rick suddenly shouted.

Carol and I both turned our attention to barn. I felt the world around me stop as my eyes focused on the walker emerging from the barn. She staggered slowly towards us, growling. It was Sophia.

"Sophia!" Carol shrieked, moving from in front of me.

I grabbed her, holding her to me like she had done with me before. She sobbed against me, wailing like I had never heard her wail before.

"Oh god! Sophia!" She screamed.

"Carol…" I murmured, tears falling down my cheeks.

"My baby. My baby." Carol choked out in between sobs.

I watched the group, unable to move or react.

Sophia continued towards us, snarling like an animal. Images of her shot through my mind as I watched her reanimated body come closer and closer.

It was Rick who finally went to Sophia, and put her out of her misery. I didn't watch.


	7. All I Can Offer

**Chapter Seven: All I Can Offer**

**Author's Note: **Hello, everyone. This will be the shortest chapter I will ever post.

1. Thank you for all of the reviews I've received thus far. I really enjoy getting them and reading them. Your reviews let me know if you're liking/disliking the story and give me encouragement to continue writing.

2. I'm really glad that you guys seem to like Cheyenne.

3. There is going to be a time jump next chapter. Nothing major, but I just thought that I would warn you guys.

Enjoy!

0o0o0

"Get off of me!" Carol screamed, fighting my grip.

I released her at once, expecting her to run to Sophia's dead body. Instead, she took off into the distance in the direction of the woods. I wanted desperately to go after her, but knew I shouldn't.

I could hear Hershel and his family grieving behind me.

Seeing Sophia as a walker, then seeing her die, and witnessing the horrible grief and sorrow that Carol felt was enough to make me never want to get up from the ground. I wanted to stay there for the rest of my life.

I started to block out the sounds from around me. I couldn't hear the crying anymore. I couldn't listen to it. It was too painful.

Then, there were hands on my shoulders.

I looked up from the ground when I started to feel the shaking. I wondered if there was an earthquake. That was when I realized that I was being shaken by somebody.

The shaking intensified as I tried to focus on who was in front of me.

"…Cheyenne…?" I heard a voice speaking to me, as if I was underwater.

The person in front of me was becoming less blurry.

"…Cheyenne…hear me?" The voice spoke again, becoming slightly clearer.

"…she's…shock…" Another voice said, close by.

"Cheyenne, can you…me?" The first voice asked, almost recognizable.

"You…try…smacking…?"

"No!"

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to focus. Slowly, I opened my eyes again.

"Cheyenne, can you hear me? Come on, Cheyenne." Daryl's voice was gruff, but soft.

"Daryl?" I was finally able to speak.

As I just started to see his face, he was picking me up off the ground. He held me easily in his arms, and I responded accordingly by wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Stay with me, alright? Stay with me, Cheyenne." Daryl told me urgently.

"I will." I promised, laying my head on his shoulder.

"How are you doing, Cheyenne?" Dale asked, walking beside Daryl.

"I'm alright. I just had a moment."

"I think you're in shock. I'm going to get you something sugary to eat or drink. It will take the edge off." Dale explained, looking at me with same worry in his eyes I had seen in Carol's concerning me before.

Daryl carried me onto the porch, but stopped outside the door.

"Will somebody let us in? Cheyenne is in shock." Dale said, loudly enough to be heard from outside.

"My father doesn't want any of you in the house." I heard Maggie say.

"Fine. Just give me something sweet." Daryl demanded.

"What?"

"Could we have a glass of orange juice or a few pieces of candy? Something sugary?" Dale asked kindly.

"…just a minute." Maggie replied quietly.

Daryl shifted me in his arms while we waited.

"Are you still with me, Adams?" Daryl asked, a sly smile in his tone.

"Still here, Dixon." I replied, lifting my head a little to look up at him.

I had been right about the sly smile. He had done a poor job of hiding the concern in his blue eyes.

The screen door opened, and Daryl looked away from me.

"Here's a glass of orange juice. I wrapped up a few cookies in that napkin." Maggie said.

"Thank you, Maggie." Dale replied.

From there, we went to the campsite. Daryl laid me down gently under the shade of one of the bigger trees.

"I'll go get the blanket from our tent." He said before running off.

I nearly smiled when he said 'our'.

"Here you go, Cheyenne." Dale said, appearing with the juice and cookies.

"Thanks, Dale." I said, taking both from him.

"Can I do anything else for you?"

"Will you go and find Carol? I'm worried about her. She needs the attention right now, not me."

"Okay. I will."

I sipped on the orange juice while I waited for Daryl to come back. By the time I had finished off the entire glass, he reappeared with the blanket.

"Sit up." He said, folding the blanket into a square.

I did as he said, and he put the blanket behind me to use as a pillow.

"Feeling better?" He asked, standing over me with his hands on his hips.

"Much. Thanks." I replied, nibbling on a cookie.

"Good." Daryl replied with a sigh. "I'm going to help with the bodies and the graves. You need to stay here and take it easy. I'll come for you later."

"I can help-"

"Cheyenne, I really don't think you can handle it right now. The best thing you could do for everyone is to lie down and get yourself together."

"…alright."

"You…you scared me for a minute there, Cheyenne." Daryl said suddenly, wiping his forehead.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." I replied genuinely.

"I know."

Without another word, Daryl left me under the tree.

I slowly ate the rest of the cookie I had started to eat. When I had finished it, Carl walked up.

"Hey, Carl. What are you doing?" I asked.

"My mom said you were over here. She wanted me to come sit with you."

"Keep me company?" I asked with a smile.

"She didn't want me to see them digging graves and burning bodies." Carl answered glumly.

"Oh…" I reached into the napkin for a cookie, holding it out to him. "Here, take this. They're good."

"No thanks."

"I'll save it for you for a little later." I told him, placing the cookie back in the napkin. "Come and sit with me."

Carl came and sat next to me in the shade. He took his dad's hat off and held it in his lap.

"I really thought we were going to find Sophia alive." He said after a few moments.

"I know, honey. Me too."

"Shane was right. She was dead the whole time. It was dumb to think Sophia was alive."

"You know what, Carl?" I lifted his chin so that he would look at me. "It wasn't dumb for any of us to think Sophia was alive. We all cared about her, and wanted to make sure that we did everything we could to find her. We would have done the same thing if you would have gone missing."

"But Shane-"

"Shane _thought_ Sophia was dead, but he didn't _know _she was dead."

Carl didn't look convinced.

"Okay, let me ask you something. What if we wouldn't have looked for Sophia for as long as we did? What if we forgot about her and moved on? Then…what if it turned out that she was alive the whole time, and was just lost in the woods?"

"I…I don't know…"

"I think it was better for us to believe she was alive and try to find her, than it would have been to assume she was dead and then come to find out that she wasn't."

Carl didn't say anything. He looked at the ground.

"You know what? I just thought of something we could do for Sophia. Want to?"

"What?" Carl asked, interested.

"Do you still have those crayons and pieces of paper?"

0o0o0

Carol refused to go to the service for Hershel's family and Sophia. The service went on without her.

We all stood in front of the fresh graves, staring at the disturbed dirt. I looked over at Carl, who held a piece of paper in his hands.

"Well, even though Carol isn't here, I'd like to say a few words about Sophia." I said, breaking the silence.

"Please." Lori replied, nodding.

"Sophia was a very beautiful and special girl. Most people think or say that about their kids or kids that they know, but Sophia really was special. Carol told me that Sophia used to draw pictures for her when she knew that her parents had been fighting."

I could see that Lori was visibly touched. Silent tears streaked down her cheeks.

"Sophia liked to draw fantastic drawings of unicorns, castles, fairies…those kinds of things. In honor of her, Carl drew something for Sophia."

Carl opened the folded piece of paper to reveal a colorful drawing. Sophia was a princess. She was riding on a unicorn. She was surrounded by happy people.

Carl kneeled down on the ground. He put the drawing on Sophia's grave, using a stone to keep it weighted down. When he stood, Lori and Rick were there to embrace him.

Slowly, everyone dispersed.

Hershel and Maggie lingered at the graves. I hadn't really spoken much to either of them, and felt badly for having not. We were, after all, guests on _their_ farm.

"Hello." I said, somewhat awkwardly as I approached them. "I don't know that we have been properly introduced. My name is Cheyenne Adams."

Hershel didn't even look at me. He just left the gravesite.

"I'm sorry. He's just taking this hard." Maggie said, looking at me with teary eyes.

"That's okay. I completely understand." I assured her, stepping closer. "I feel really guilty that I haven't made more of an effort to connect with you and your family…and I feel even guiltier about what happened here today. It wasn't right."

"Thank you." Maggie said quietly.

"If there is _anything_ that I can do to help your family through this difficult time, please let me know. I'd be happy to cook meals, clean, do laundry, shoot Shane…"

Maggie chuckled, a small smile coming to her face.

"Thanks, Cheyenne. I'll let you know."

"Okay." I replied with a smile of my own.

Maggie left after her father, leaving me by myself at the gravesite. I stood in front of the graves, looking down at them with sorrow in my heart.

"Oh, Sophia…" I whispered.

I looked away from her grave. When I did, I noticed Carol wandering around the edge of the woods. There was something about the way that she was stumbling around that worried me.

I quickly approached her.

"Carol?"

She walked up to me, her eyes darting all around.

"Carol, are you okay?" I asked worriedly, grabbing her hands.

I looked down and saw that her hands were raw and red, and also caked in dirt.

"Come on, Carol. Let's go get you cleaned up." I said gently, putting my arm around her.

I led Carol to the pump. I sat her down beside it, and began to pump water to wash her hands with. She was still looking all around, her eyes never staying in one place for very long.

"Carol, look at me." I said, grabbing her chin.

"Cheyenne…" She murmured, managing to make eye contact.

"Carol, you have to snap out of it." I told her softly. "We're all worried about you."

"Sophia…" She whispered, looking away from me.

"I know, Carol. I know." I replied, letting go of her face.

I washed Carol's hands in the water I pumped.

0o0o0

I found her sitting by the pond she had told me about earlier that day. It seemed like we had talked in the barn weeks ago after what happened.

She had let down her hair. It was blowing gently in the occasional breeze. She had her knees pulled up to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around them. One of the straps of her tank top had fallen down off of her shoulder.

"Hey." I finally said, breaking the silence.

"Hey." She replied unenthusiastically, looking at the water.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Everything." She replied simply.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay." I copied her posture. "Do you want to know what's on my mind?"

"Sure."

"I was just thinking about you and I…all the stuff that's gone on between us." I admitted.

"Like what?" She asked, finally sounding mildly interested.

"I…I haven't really known where to put you in my life. I really wasn't looking for a girlfriend, or even a friend. I was just trying to survive this disease and make it out alive. Then you came along…"

"I screwed up your plans."

"I tried really hard not to like you. It didn't work out. Then I decided, okay, I like her. I'm going to be friends with Cheyenne." I looked at the water. "Then…I started feeling other things for you."

"When did that happen?"

"I don't really know. It just kind of happened." I returned my eyes to her. She was looking at me. "When I got hurt, it really messed me up. I kind of blamed all of you guys, you especially, for why I got hurt out in the woods…so I decided to break away from you guys."

"It all makes sense." Cheyenne murmured, looking away.

"When I saw Shane throw you to the ground, I-"

"Wanted to hurt him?"

"I wanted to kill him." I said, meeting Cheyenne's gaze. "If I wouldn't have been empty, I would have shot him. I swear to god I would have."

"Daryl…"

"I've never experienced that kind of rage before."

"So…what does that mean to you?" Cheyenne asked quietly.

"I care about you, Cheyenne. I care about you a lot. It…it matter to me…what happens to you." I told her slowly.

"I care about you too, Daryl."

"That's all I can offer to you. Maybe…if the circumstances were different…"

Cheyenne turned her body totally towards mine. She placed her hand on one of my arms.

"That's enough." She assured me softly.

"Now, please," I said, a smile coming to my face, "let me take care of your face."

"What?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

I tore off a section of my already tattered shirt, and leaned forward to dip it in the pond water. I used the dampened cloth to wipe the dry blood from Cheyenne's nose and upper lip.

"Are you kidding me? I've had blood on my face since the incident at the barn and somebody is _just now _telling me?" Cheyenne whined.

"Who are you trying to impress?" I asked, winking at her.

"Nobody worth impressing." She shot back at me.

"Ouch, lady." I said, tossing the soiled cloth aside.

"Damn you. Damn you and your blue eyes." Cheyenne said, shaking her head.

"My blue eyes?" I asked, smirking.

"You know what? I just decided that I don't like you anymore."

Cheyenne moved onto her knees as if she were going to stand. Before she could, I had her on her back. I hovered over her, my hand sweeping a section of her light brown hair out of her face.

"You have freckles." I said, noticing the very light freckles on her face.

"Wow…you're just now noticing?" She asked.

"I guess so."

I leaned down and gently kissed her once.

"You mean a lot to me, Daryl." She told me softly as I pulled away from her mouth.

"You mean a lot to me too, Cheyenne." I replied, kissing the tip of her nose.

"That was awfully cute. Are you sure that you're Daryl Dixon?" Cheyenne asked jokingly.

"Only for you, lady. Only for you."


	8. Going Home

**Chapter Eight: Going Home**

_Three months later...**  
**_

"Cheyenne…" Lori looked at me in disbelief.

"Don't act so surprised, Lori. He hasn't spoken to me, _really spoken to me_, over the past three months or so." I replied, slightly irritated.

I ran my fingers through my shoulder length hair. Though it had been cut short for a while, I still wasn't used to it. I had always had long hair. My mom used to brush it for me all the time, especially the longer that it got. Though the shorter hair was more convenient, I missed the length.

"Look…I don't mean to be rude. You're my friend, but I need an answer. Are you going to help me or not?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

Lori's face hadn't changed. I watched as she gently stroked the swell of her belly where the baby was barely beginning to show.

"…okay. Okay. I'll help you, Cheyenne." Lori finally agreed, sighing.

"Thank you." I replied sincerely, breathing my own sigh of relief.

"I have one condition." Lori said, holding up one finger.

"What?" I asked warily.

"If anything, and I mean _anything_, goes wrong…you have to tell him." Lori insisted.

"…alright." I agreed.

"Cheyenne." Lori said, sounding maternal. "I mean it. If something happens, and you don't tell him, then I will."

"Alright. Alright." I said exasperatedly.

"Come on. We have a lot to talk about." Lori said, holding out an arm to me.

0o0o0

_"Cheyenne!"_

_ "Daryl!"_

_ "Cheyenne! Cheyenne!"_

_ "Daryl! Daryl!"_

_ "CHEYENNE! CHHHEEEYYYEEENNNE!"_

_ "DARYL!"_

I woke up in a cold sweat. I was breathing heavily.

"It was just a dream." I muttered to myself, trying to calm down.

It was hard to calm down when I knew that it hadn't been a dream three months ago. It had been a living, breathing nightmare. That nightmare had haunted me ever since, both in my dreams and in my reality.

I wiped off my forehead and looked over at Lori. She and I had been sharing a tent ever since we left Hershel's farm, or rather, ever since we were chased off of Hershel's farm.

Seeing Lori sleeping peacefully on the opposite side of the tent calmed my nerves a little.

I laid there, knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. I wondered what time it was as I looked up at the tent ceiling. I knew that I was exhausted when I thought I saw something moving in the tree over the tent.

_"Stay here, Cheyenne."_

_ "Daryl-"_

_ "Stay here. It's the safest place you can be right now."_

_ "Daryl…please be careful."_

_ "I will. I'll come back for you soon."_

I wiped away the tear that was trickling down the side of my face. It was painful to remember how things used to be with Daryl and I. After that day Sophia died, Daryl and I had been practically inseparable. He was much less hot and cold with me, though he had his moments, and had begun showing me more physical affection than before…

"Mmm…Cheyenne?"

I looked over at Lori, who was looking at me groggily.

"What is it, Lori?" I whispered.

"I have to pee again." She yawned, sitting up. "Do you need to go?"

"I should try. I'm sure I'll have to sometime soon." I replied, getting up along with her.

Lori and I left the tent and headed away from the campsite.

"How long had you been awake?" Lori asked as we walked.

"Not long."

"You really need to sleep. It's not good for-"

"I know. I promise that I'm trying."

"Okay."

Lori and I parted ways to relieve ourselves. She tore off a section of toilet paper and handed it to me before she wandered into the trees.

When we had finished, we headed back to the tent. As we approached camp, Daryl emerged from the shadows near our tent, startling Lori and I.

"Oh god, Daryl, I didn't see you there." Lori said, covering her chest.

Daryl grunted in response, refusing to make eye contact with me.

"Well…goodnight." Lori said awkwardly, pulling on my hand.

Lori and I went into the tent, but Lori sat down with me on my side of the tent.

"I still can't believe how he's been treating you since that night on the farm." Lori whispered sympathetically, covering my hand with hers. "I'm so sorry."

"I really don't understand it…but I don't have the energy right now to fight with him…you know?"

"I get it. If only he knew..."

"Please don't start in with that, Lori. I thought I made myself pretty clear before why I don't want him to know."

"I know you did. That doesn't mean I agree with you."

"You don't have to agree with me."

"Cheyenne, I just don't want you to go through this alone." Lori said gently, moving her hand to my shoulder.

"I'm not going through it alone. You're with me, right?" I asked, giving her a half smile.

"Of course."

"I think we'd better go back to sleep. We need our rest." I said, moving out from under Lori's hand.

"You're right. Try to get some rest, Cheyenne." Lori replied, smiling sadly at me.

Lori fell asleep quickly. I on the other hand, was up for several hours thinking…

_When Daryl and Glenn suddenly returned that evening after having gone on a manhunt to find the kid we'd been keeping in the barn, it took all of my restraint not to throw myself at him. I had been very worried about Daryl. Ever since the day Shane let all of the walkers out of the barn, he hadn't been right. I worried about Daryl being out in the woods with him._

_ "Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked, looking around the room at us._

_ "No." Lori answered._

_ I felt butterflies fluttering in my gut when Daryl came to me, his arm protectively encircling my waist. He had started doing that whenever our group discussed something serious or potentially dangerous._

_ "We heard a shot." Glenn said._

_ "Maybe they found Randall."_

_ "We found him." Daryl replied from beside me._

_ "Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked._

_ "He's a walker."_

_ "Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked._

_ "No. The weird thing is he wasn't bit." Glenn answered._

_ "His neck was broke. The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other and Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together." Daryl explained._

_ "Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane, and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori asked desperately._

_ "You got it." Daryl replied, removing his arm from around my waist._

_ I followed quickly after Daryl, just as everyone else did. When we reached the front porch, we all slowed as we looked out over the farm in horror. The biggest herd of walkers I had ever seen was heading straight for the house._

_ "Daryl…" I murmured weakly, reaching out to clutch his arm._

_ "I'm right here, baby." He assured me quietly, still staring out over the field._

_ "Maybe they're just passing through, like the ones on the highway. Should we just go inside?" Glenn said, sounding just as terrified as me._

_ "Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about. A herd that size would rip the house down." Daryl replied._

_ The voices around me turned into a blur as I stared at the walkers coming ever closer to the house. I was vaguely aware of Lori shouting about Carl being missing, while Hershel insisted that we use the cars to try and lead the walkers away from the farm._

_ It was too much. We had finally found a place to be safe and happy…_

_ "Stay here, Cheyenne." Daryl told me sternly, breaking me from my trance._

_ "Daryl-"_

_ "Stay here." Daryl insisted, suddenly grasping my face with both hands. "It's the safest place you can be right now."_

_ "Daryl…please be careful." I whispered, blinking away tears._

_ "I will. I'll come back for you soon." Daryl promised, his blue eyes intense upon mine._

_ Daryl leaned in, giving me one last kiss before jumping over the banister. I hadn't known at the time, but it would be the last kiss he would ever give me._

0o0o0

The next morning, Carol made everyone a light breakfast.

I sat outside of Lori's and my tent, staring at the ground. I hadn't felt so terrible since my parents had decided to kill themselves. I felt miserable and alone, but also didn't have the luxury of dwelling on those feelings for very long.

_"I can't find him anywhere!" Lori shouted, barreling down the stairs._

_ Carol and I came from the kitchen to meet her at the bottom of the stairs. She was frantic._

_ "So maybe he snuck outside." Carol suggested calmly._

_ "What do I do?!" Lori shouted desperately, sounding as though she were on the verge of tears._

_ "We'll find him, Lori. We'll keep looking." I reassured her, trying to mimic Carol's calm tone of voice._

_ "He was here. He must've run off, maybe looking for Rick…or went after Randall himself."_

_ "Maybe he set the fire." Patricia suggested, referring to the burning barn._

_ The gunfire from outside became louder and more frequent than before. I could hear walkers moaning loudly in the field._

_ Lori ran outside, so Carol and I followed her._

_ I looked out at the field, watching the cars and Daryl's motorcycle weaving all over the farm. Walkers were falling, but it was almost as though more were springing up from the ground. The barn was engulfed in fire._

_ I watched Daryl's motorcycle, hoping that he would be safe._

_ "Cheyenne, come on!" Carol called, running back into the house._

_ I looked behind me as Carol ushered Patricia and Beth out of the house._

_ "Cheyenne." Carol said loudly, staring at me as I blankly stared back. "We're leaving. Let's go."_

_ I looked at Beth, who was crying. It took me only one second more to gather myself together._

_ "Alright. Let's go." I replied._

_ Carol ran from the house, and I followed close behind her. I saw before she did that she was running towards a dead end. She came to an abrupt halt, and turned around to face me, horrified._

_ "No! No!" She cried._

_ I whirled around to see walkers coming for us._

_ "Run, Carol!" I screamed, pulling out one of Daryl's handguns from my waist._

_ "I won't leave you, Cheyenne!"_

_ "Go!" I yelled, firing the gun at a walker coming towards me. I hit it in the neck, sending it flying backwards. I turned my head towards Carol. "Daryl won't leave me here! Go! Now!"_

_ As Carol ran, I turned just in time to see two walkers behind me falling to the ground._

_ "Run, Cheyenne!" Andrea shouted, confidently taking down another walker._

_ I did as she said, gripping Daryl's handgun with white knuckles._

_ "Daryl!" I screamed, raising my gun to fire at a walker._

_ I missed the walker completely, but kept running. My lungs were burning in my chest._

_ "Daryl! Daryl!"_

_ Suddenly, I was grabbed by my braid._

_ "DARYL!" I screamed in horror._

"Cheyenne?"

I looked up to see Lori hovering over me.

"What?"

"I asked if you had eaten yet." Lori replied, taking a seat next to me.

"No." I answered, looking at her plate of squirrel meat and wild blueberries.

"You have to eat, Cheyenne." Lori said disapprovingly, handing her plate to me. "Come on, Carol gave me extra. Take mine. I'll get another plate."

I accepted Lori's plate, picking a blueberry off of it and popping it into my mouth.

I started in on the squirrel meat, but after only one bite, I had to quickly escape the campsite. I staggered into the trees, vomiting partly on myself before I was able to bend over and puke on the ground. I used a tree for balance as I threw up the contents of my stomach.

When I had finished, I placed a hand gingerly over my stomach.

At first when I missed my period, I chalked it up to stress or weight loss. When I started experiencing morning sickness two to three times each morning for an entire week straight, I knew that I was pregnant. My mom had always told me that during her pregnancy with me, she had terrible morning sickness.

When I was sure of my pregnancy, I immediately confided in Lori. Carol wouldn't have agreed to keep my condition a secret. She would have demanded that I inform everyone, especially Daryl, or she would have done it herself. Lori understood what it was like to have to keep a pregnancy secret. She knew what it was like to be distant from the father of your unborn child. She and Rick had barely spoken since he had revealed to everyone that he had killed Shane.

I sat down in the middle of the woods, my mind racing and my stomach churning.

If Daryl and I were speaking, if our relationship was the way it used to be, I might have been happy about having his child. However, under the circumstances of him being completely absent from my life, I felt only sadness and loneliness over the impending birth.

"Mama. Oh, Mama…I wish you were here." I whispered, leaning my head back against the tree.

0o0o0

_"Cheyenne?"_

_ I studied her still face, hoping that her eyelashes would flutter or her lips would twitch. There was no flutter. There was no twitch._

_ "Cheyenne?" I murmured again, keeping a close watch over her face._

_ T-Dog's words were running through my head over and over again._

"Maggie…Maggie accidentally clipped Cheyenne with the car…"

_How could Maggie have clipped Cheyenne? In all of that chaos, and with all of those walkers, Maggie somehow managed to hit Cheyenne?_

_ "Cheyenne. Cheyenne, come on. Wake up." I muttered, wrestling with whether or not I should touch her._

_ There was a cut at her hairline. It was already bruising. Her dislocated shoulder was visibly apparent, though her arm was tucked inside of her buttoned up shirt. Her braid had been hacked nearly all the way off. Her face hadn't changed._

_ "Cheyenne!"_

I nearly fell out of the tree I had been sleeping in. I recovered quickly, holding onto the limb I was reclined on. I pressed my back firmly against the tree trunk, collecting myself before I looked down at Lori and Cheyenne's tent.

I could barely make out Lori and Cheyenne's sleeping forms inside of the tent. There was no movement. I assumed that they were fast asleep.

I looked away from the tent, setting my sights on my surroundings. I would have to hunt soon if we were going to have any meat for breakfast. Nobody else scored squirrels or rabbits or other small animals like me. When others went out hunting for food, they scarcely brought back enough for everyone.

Below, I suddenly heard Lori and Cheyenne talking. I shifted my gaze to their tent just as they emerged. They slowly wandered into the trees. I decided to give them five minutes before I would follow.

I hadn't spoken to Cheyenne since the night after Hershel's farm was attacked. Three months, give or take a few days, had passed since then.

I wrestled with myself over the course of those three months every waking moment. I debated whether or not to talk to Cheyenne again. I blamed myself for what happened the night of the attack, but other days, I blamed Cheyenne.

Part of me believed that I should have taken Cheyenne with me on my motorcycle from the beginning. She could have ridden behind me. I would have protected her more efficiently had she been closer to me. At the very least, I should have ridden through the farm until I found her. I shouldn't have stopped to pick up Carol. I should have left her, and continued looking for Cheyenne.

The other part of me believed that Cheyenne had acted stupidly. She should have stayed at the farmhouse and then gotten to a vehicle the second she had the chance. She shouldn't have been running around the farm with only a handgun and a knife.

When five minutes came and went, I climbed down from the tree. Just as I climbed down, I heard Lori and Cheyenne returning.

"Oh god, Daryl, I didn't see you there." Lori said, sounding surprised.

I grunted, keeping my eyes on the ground.

"Well…goodnight."

As Lori and Cheyenne passed me to go into their tent, I headed off to go and hunt.

0o0o0

The next morning, Carol cooked up my squirrel meat. Lori and Carl had gone blueberry picking, and had come back with enough for everyone to have a handful. They were tart and bitter.

I noticed Lori give Cheyenne her plate of food. I looked down at my wild blueberries with disgust. I picked them up in one hand, and moved quietly behind the tents. Before I could sneak them onto Cheyenne's plate, she had suddenly snuck off into the trees.

I followed Cheyenne at a distance, not wanting her to take notice of my presence.

After nearly losing her, I realized that I had gotten too soft. I had let my feelings for Cheyenne run too deep. They affected me in every aspect of my life. While I had been taking down walkers on the farm that night the herd attacked, Cheyenne had been the only thing on my mind. I worried for her safety. I hoped she wasn't hurt during the attack.

When I found out that Maggie had hit her, and that she had been grabbed by a walker, it was the final straw. I had to step away from Cheyenne. I had to retract my feelings for her. There was no place for her in my life in the world full of walkers. I had to survive. I couldn't do that if Cheyenne was constantly in the back of my head.

I watched as Cheyenne became physically ill several times. When she had finished, the front of her shirt covered with vomit, she sank to the ground beneath a tree. She leaned against it, her eyes closed.

Over the course of the past three months, I had followed her many times when she had wandered off alone. She often got sick, or at least gagged or spit many times as though she might get sick.

I had no idea what was making Cheyenne sick. I didn't know if it was an undiagnosed illness, her diet, or if it was something having to do with her time of the month. I tried not to think about it too much. I was sure that if it were serious, she would have told someone. It hadn't taken long for everyone to find out about Lori's pregnancy.

When Cheyenne remained under the tree for many more minutes, I headed back to camp.

0o0o0

That night, Lori spent time alone with Carl. I laid in our tent, tracing patterns across my stomach. I wasn't showing at all. My mother told me that she hadn't started showing until she was around five or six months pregnant with me.

The sound of the tent unzipping startled me. I sat up and turned to see Carol standing there.

"Hi." I said quietly, still somewhat startled.

"Hi. Can we talk?" Carol asked, giving me a small smile.

"Sure." I replied, eyeing Lori's side of the tent.

Carol stepped inside, closing up the tent behind her. She sat down where Lori slept.

"How are you?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well…we haven't talked in a while. I mean _really_ talked."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's not you. Really."

"Is it Daryl?" Carol asked softly.

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Oh, honey, I'm sure it's been hard for you. I know that you care about him. I know that he cares about you too. He just…he just got scared. I'm sure he'll come around."

I didn't respond. I knew that she was right about Daryl being scared, but wasn't so sure he would come around.

"It's just that…you've been spending a lot of time with Lori…" Carol said, sadness in her voice. "I just wondered why you felt comfortable with her, but not with me…"

"I'm sorry, Carol. I didn't mean to make you feel bad." I replied, feeling guilty.

"Did I do something to make you feel like I wasn't interested in-"

"No. God no." I interrupted, shaking my head. "It was nothing you did. I've just…I've just been acting like an asshole."

"Don't say that." Carol said maternally.

"I'm sorry."

"I just want you to know that you can talk to me. You can tell me anything."

"I know, Carol. I know."

The truth was, I couldn't tell her anything. I couldn't tell her that I was pregnant. She would tell Daryl immediately. I couldn't have her doing that.

I did miss Carol, though. She made me feel like I had a mom again.

"I care about you, Cheyenne." Carol said, crawling towards me.

Carol hugged me, pulling me close to her.

"I care about you too, Carol." I replied, closing my eyes as she hugged me tightly.

When we pulled away, Carol wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Well, I just wanted to…tell you that. I'm going to head to bed. Maybe…maybe you can come to my tent some night?"

"I'd like that." I replied, forcing a smile onto my face.

"Good." Carol returned my smile before unzipping the tent. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Carol."

When she left, I laid back down. I felt tears in my eyes, but kept them at bay. I didn't know if it was hormones, Carol, or Daryl. All I knew was that I was miserable, sad, and lonely.

I knew one thing: I wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to my parents' house. I wanted to bury my parents' remains. I wanted to pay my respects to them. I wanted to be close to them.

I thought it over. Lori was pregnant. One baby would be enough for the group to handle. If there were two babies in the group, it would surely be too much. I couldn't burden everyone else with my child. It was my responsibility.

We were somewhere in Senoia. If I followed main roads, I could find my way back to my parents' house in Macon. It would take me only a few days at the most. I could go back to the house. I could take refuge there. I would have to board it up, but I could make it my home again.

As I formulated my plan, Lori returned to our tent. As we both got ready to go to sleep, I had my mind made up. I was going home.


	9. Familiar Faces

**Chapter Nine: Familiar Faces**

I waited for the opportune moment to leave the group. Daryl always went on a two to four day hunt at the beginning of each month in the hopes that he would return with a mass quantity of meat. I decided to leave on his first night away.

So, as my first trimester ended and my second trimester began, I quietly packed my things throughout the day. I didn't want Lori or anyone else to grow suspicious of what I was doing.

As I stuffed my clothes into my knapsack, I came across an article of clothing that made me stop what I was doing…

_Daryl covered my body with his. He pressed his bare chest against my skin, my bra the only barrier between his chest and mine. He held himself up suddenly between my legs, one of his hands lingering on my face._

_ "Am I hurting you?" He asked, his voice husky and quiet._

_ "No." I whispered, pulling him back down on top of me._

_ Daryl kissed me, his hand moving down my face to my neck. His other hand was knotted in my hair._

_ "Are you going to fall asleep on me this time?" I asked against his lips, earning a chuckle._

_ "I wasn't planning on it."_

_ Daryl pulled away again, a frown coming to his face._

_ "What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow._

_ "…are you sure you want to do this? I mean…are you okay with this?"_

_ "Daryl," I sat up, "I'm not a virgin."_

_ "You're not?" Daryl asked, looking genuinely shocked._

_ "Why are you so surprised?"_

_ "I don't know…I just wouldn't have guessed that." Daryl shrugged._

_ "Is…that okay?" I asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious._

_ "It's fine, Cheyenne." Daryl insisted, bringing his hand up under my chin._

_ "…okay." I replied, laying back down._

"Cheyenne, dinner is ready." Lori said from behind me.

"Okay." I replied, closing my knapsack.

I followed Lori out to the circle where everyone was eating. Glenn, Maggie, and Hershel were huddled together, talking. Rick and Carl were sitting side by side.

I grabbed a plate of wild blueberries and a small portion of whatever meat had been prepared that night. I took my plate to where Carol sat alone.

We didn't talk much, but we didn't have to. We sat together comfortably, happy just to be sitting together. I knew it probably made Carol feel just as good to spend time with me as it did for me to spend time with her. I was going to miss her when I left.

When I finished eating, I went to the tent to lie down. Lori entered the tent soon after I did, and she fell asleep quickly.

I waited for a while before I got up to leave. I grabbed my knapsack, casting one last look at Lori before I slowly unzipped the tent and stepped out.

Everyone was in their own tent. The fire was out.

I looked around at the tents, imagining the different members of the group inside of each one. I had been with them for many months, and I would miss them all in some way. I would miss Carol's motherly ways. I would miss Lori's compassion and help. I would miss Glenn's dorky jokes and stories. I would miss all of them.

I slung my knapsack over my shoulder, knowing that I needed to move if I was going to cover any kind of ground before I was discovered missing in the morning.

"Goodbye, everyone." I murmured in the dark.

0o0o0

I was able to make my way to a main road by sunrise. With my hunting knife and the handgun I had never given back to Daryl, I felt safe enough to catch a few hours of sleep in an abandoned car.

When I woke up, it was midday. I headed southeast towards Macon. Though there was the possibility of running into walkers, I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement when I began to recognize my surroundings more and more as I got closer to Macon.

By the time I reached downtown Macon, the sun was beginning to set. I decided to find a safe place to stay for the night. I knew that if there were walkers in Macon, they were probably congregated in the downtown area.

As I carefully made my way through the streets, I set my sights on a very familiar building. It was the 1842 Inn. It had been a bed and breakfast before the outbreak. My parents used to spend their anniversary there.

As I approached, I stared at the tall, white columns. The inn looked just the way it always had. It was almost as if the outbreak hadn't occurred.

I pulled out Daryl's handgun as I opened one of the black doors.

I quietly made my way through the inn, checking each room for any sign of a walker. As I headed up to the second floor, I heard a creaking sound that stopped me dead in my tracks.

I carefully crept up the rest of the stairs, hesitating before I stepped out into the hall. There was no sign of anybody.

"Hello?" I called, aiming my gun at each end of the hall.

I heard the creaking sound again.

"H-Hello?" A voice replied.

I turned towards the direction that the voice came from, keeping my gun raised.

"I'm not a walker. I haven't been bitten. I haven't been scratched. I'm just looking for a place to stay for the night." I explained, looking at each door.

"Who…who are you?"

"My name is Cheyenne Adams."

"Cheyenne?"

I heard the creaking sound again, and then one of the doors opened. A familiar face came walking out of the room.

"Riley?"

I put my gun away as I slowly approached him.

"Cheyenne."

Riley walked towards me, immediately enveloping me in a hug.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, ending our embrace.

"I've been living in the inn for a while now. After…everything happened, I got out of the neighborhood and headed for downtown. I was staying at Fincher's Barbecue for a while, but then a bunch of zombies started wandering in. I think the smell of the rotting meat attracted them or something." Riley explained. "What about you?"

"I left Macon and made my way to Atlanta. I hooked up with a bunch of survivors. We were staying in Senoia, but…I just wanted to come home."

I looked up at Riley. He looked the same, but somehow, he looked different. The innocence was gone from his features. Even his dimples looked less dramatic.

"It's good to see you. I…I didn't know if you were alive." Riley said.

"Yeah. It's good to see a familiar face." I agreed.

"So, where were you headed…you know…after tonight?"

"I'm going back to the neighborhood. I want to go to my parents' house."

"Why?"

"I just…I just need to go home."

"The last time I was there, it was crawling with zombies."

"I know. It was crawling with them when I was last there too, but maybe they've migrated. The walkers that I've seen tend to do that."

"It sounds like you've seen some stuff." Riley said, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair.

My stomach growled suddenly, interrupting our conversation.

"When did you eat last?"

"Um…last night."

"There's a small supply of food left in the kitchen. Why don't we have dinner?" Riley suggested.

"Sure."

Riley led me to the kitchen. He was able to scrounge up some instant macaroni and a couple of cans of green beans. We made our food, and then settled into the dining room to eat.

"So, tell me more about what happened after you left the neighborhood." Riley said.

"Well, I wasn't really going anywhere in particular. I was just trying to find somewhere safe. I ended up getting lost in the woods at some point, and ran into a few walkers. I was somehow able to lose them, but passed out from dehydration just outside of downtown Atlanta."

"Is that when you found those survivors?"

"They found me. Well…Daryl found me. He's one of them." I explained, suddenly feeling my stomach churn as Daryl's face appeared in my mind.

"So…then what?"

"We went to the CDC to see if there was any kind of cure or work being done. That ended up being a dead end. Then we wound up staying on a farm in Senoia for a while. After the farm was ravaged by a herd of walkers, we had to abandon it. We were just kind of camping out in the woods when I decided to come back to Macon."

"Hmm."

"What about you?"

"My dad got attacked." Riley said simply, pushing green beans around his plate.

"I'm sorry, Riley. What about George?"

"Him too."

"Oh no." I murmured, remembering Riley's younger brother.

"That's why I got out of the neighborhood. It was overrun."

"I know. Me too."

"…I'm glad you're here, Cheyenne." Riley said suddenly, his tone very serious.

I didn't know how to respond. Riley and I had never dated, but we'd had several flings throughout high school. At first, it was really casual and just a lot of fun. As we got older, Riley started acting differently towards me. After he told me he loved me, I told him we couldn't hook up anymore. I didn't return his feelings, and didn't want to lead him on.

Something about the way he said he was glad that I was there made me remember the tone of his voice when he had told me he loved me.

"…I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to take a shower and head to bed."

"The plumbing doesn't work." Riley replied.

"Okay. I'll just head to bed then."

I got up, leaving my plate behind.

"Cheyenne?"

"Yeah?" I asked, turning around to face Riley.

"…goodnight." He said simply, looking down at his plate.

"Goodnight, Riley."

0o0o0

I knew the second that I got back from my hunt that something was wrong. When I got to camp, everyone seemed to avoid me like the plague. Nobody would even look at me.

As I set down my kills by the fire pit, Lori approached me.

"Daryl, we need to talk." She said quietly.

"About what?" I asked roughly, arranging my rabbits and birds.

"It's about Cheyenne."

I cursed the horrible feeling that shot through my body.

"What about her? Where is she?" I asked, standing up straight.

"She's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean 'gone'?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

"I don't know where she went. All I know is that she left sometime during the first night you were gone. She took all of her things with her."

I tried to process what Lori was saying. Why would Cheyenne have left? Where would she have gone?

"Have any of you tried to find her?" I asked, becoming more and more bewildered as the seconds ticked by.

"Rick, T-Dog, and Carol went out looking the morning that we discovered she was missing. Glenn, Maggie, and I went out that night. None of us found her or found any clues as to where she would have gone."

"Holy hell." I muttered angrily, throwing down the dead rabbit in my hand.

"…there's more." Lori murmured, looking down.

"What?"

"Cheyenne…Cheyenne is pregnant."

I immediately remembered the moment in which Shane had shoved Cheyenne to the ground. I remembered the red hot anger that had boiled up inside of me. I remembered wanting to shoot Shane dead. I felt that same anger boiling up inside of me in that moment, but the anger was for myself.

"Walk with me." I snarled, heading towards my tent.

Lori followed closed behind and hovered while I collected my gear.

"How long have you known? Have all of you known?"

"I'm the only one who knew up until the morning I found out she was gone. She asked me not to tell anybody…especially you."

"You should have told me. _She_ should have told me." I snapped, equipping myself.

"Why? Why would Cheyenne have told you that she was pregnant with your child when you won't even speak to her? You won't even look at her." Lori argued.

I didn't reply.

"Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" Lori asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yeah. I have an idea."

"You need to find her. She didn't take any food or any of the prenatal vitamins we'd been sharing. She's four months pregnant. She needs us. She needs _you_."

Though I wanted to kill something or someone, I knew Lori was right. In that moment, knowing that there were two lives out there depending on me, I knew I had to set my emotions aside.

I had to find Cheyenne. I needed to bring her back.

0o0o0

I headed out of downtown, creeping close to buildings when I came upon wandering walkers along the way. I managed to make it out of there without having to stab one or fire my gun.

As I left the cluster of buildings behind me, I started into the woods separating downtown from the roads heading in that direction. I felt relaxed as I moved through the trees. I felt much more comfortable in them than I had in downtown Macon. I had spent so much time in the woods since the outbreak that it had become second nature to move and live among the trees.

As I was making my way through the woods, I heard the sound of a branch or stick snapping behind me. Immediately, I pulled out my hunting knife and swiveled to see the source of the noise.

"Damnit, Riley. I could have hurt you." I sighed, lowering my knife.

"Sorry, Cheyenne." Riley apologized sincerely, coming towards me.

"What are you doing out here? Why are you following me?" I asked, putting my knife away.

"I just…I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure that you got to the neighborhood safely…I thought I…I thought I might even join you." Riley admitted slowly, looking at the ground.

"Join me?"

"You know…at the house?"

"Oh…" I replied, looking away.

"Would that…be okay?" Riley asked, his tone bordering on hurt.

"…for now, Riley. You can stay with me for now. I think it would be good for you if you went back to your old house at some point."

"Cheyenne…"

"What?"

"Nothing." Riley replied, shaking his head. "Let's keep moving. We want to make it there before sunset."

I nodded in agreement, and kept moving.

0o0o0

I hurried through the woods without bothering to track Cheyenne. I knew exactly where she was going. There was only one place she would go to. She was going to Macon. She was going home.

I had very little to work with once I got to Macon. I knew from stories that her parents' house had a wraparound porch, black shutters, and a matching front door. That sounded like it could have been any house in Georgia, let alone Macon. I would have to do some serious scouting in order to find Cheyenne's parents' house.

As I made my way through the woods, my mind was racing. My life was a whirlwind. I had experienced more ups and downs in the past year than I had in a lifetime. First the outbreak, then losing Merle, then Cheyenne.

I had screwed things up with Cheyenne. I shouldn't have cut her out of my life after that night on Hershel's farm. The time to make that decision had long since come and gone. I couldn't pretend I had no feelings for Cheyenne anymore. There was a reason that I spent so many nights in the tree over her tent, or why I often followed her into the woods to make sure she was safe on her own. I still cared for her.

She had been pregnant. She had been pregnant the whole time I had been ignoring her. She had only Lori to help her. She hadn't even tried to tell me about it, though I knew that she had good reason not to. Not after the way I had left things…

_"Daryl, talk to me. Tell me what's going on." Cheyenne pleaded._

_ "There's nothing going on." I replied simply, turning to look at her._

_ Hershel had fixed Cheyenne's shoulder, but had created a makeshift sling for her to wear for a while._

_ "Daryl…"_

_ "Look, we had a good time. What else do you want me to say?" I shrugged._

_ "What?"_

_ "Cheyenne, I told you a long time ago that I was just offering you the chance to have a good time."_

_ Cheyenne's expression quickly changed. Her look of confusion was replaced by anger._

_ "Fuck you, Daryl." She growled, surprising me with her curse. I had never heard her say 'fuck' before._

_ "It's not like I proposed to you. Remember?"_

_ "Stay away from me, Daryl. Stay the hell away from me!" She shouted angrily._

_ "Gladly." I replied, turning away from her._

I cursed myself for having been so dumb. If I hadn't gotten so caught up in being afraid of losing Cheyenne, she would have told me that she was pregnant from the beginning. I would have known the whole time. I could have been there for her.

As I approached the road, I realized that my vision was blurry. There were tears in my eyes.

0o0o0

The sky was changing in accordance with the nearing sunset when Riley and I finally reached our old neighborhood. The sign for Live Oak Estates had been heavily damaged. I knew that the dark colored stains on it were probably dry blood.

"Come on, let's get going. I don't want to be outside when the sun goes down." I said.

Riley and I headed in the direction of Brown Thrasher Boulevard, the street I had lived on my whole life before the outbreak. Along the way, I took notice of how different the neighborhood looked. Homes were damaged, lawns were torn up, and there wasn't a single sign that anybody still lived in the neighborhood.

As Riley and I turned onto Brown Thrasher Boulevard, I half expected to see my parents' house torn up and in shambles. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that it was still pretty much intact. My happiness quickly turned to fear and confusion when I saw the boards across the front door.

"Someone boarded up the house." I muttered, stopping in the middle of the street.

"Maybe somebody is using the house as shelter?" Riley suggested, pausing beside me.

"I'll go around back. You keep a lookout out front." I told Riley, starting towards the house again.

I pulled out my knife as I crept up to the house. I felt odd sneaking up on the house I had grown up in, but I had to be cautious. I had no idea what or who I would find inside of the house.

I moved around the back of the house, stopping again when I saw an area of disturbed dirt in the backyard. Someone or something was buried there.

I went up onto the porch. The back door was boarded up too, but the boards weren't nailed in place. They were fashioned in a way that allowed one to swing them up and down at will. Whoever was using my parents' house was using the back door to get out of the house.

I swung the boards up one by one, giving me access to the back door. It was locked.

"Hello?" I called, knocking on the door.

I waited for an answer, but I didn't receive one.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Still no answer.

"My name is Cheyenne. I used to live here before the outbreak. Please let me in." I begged, looking up at the darkening sky.

Suddenly, the door unlocked.

"Thank you, thank…" My voice trailed off as I came face to face with the person who was using my parents' house as shelter. "…M-Mama?"

0o0o0

When night settled in, I slowed my search. I knew that Cheyenne was probably stopping to rest during the night. I hoped she was, at least.

I checked each vehicle I passed, hoping to find Cheyenne sleeping inside. I knew she probably wasn't on the road anymore. I figured she was probably already in Macon, though I hoped she hadn't already found her parents' house. My search would become increasingly harder the closer she got to that house.

I came upon a truck with a car seat inside. I stopped, looking it over. There were different colored stars and moons all over it. Three plush stars hung from the top of the car seat. I imagined them dangling in front of a baby reclined in the seat.

That was when it really hit me. Cheyenne wasn't just pregnant. She was carrying a child. _My_ child.

"I'm…going to be a father." I murmured aloud to myself.

I had never really planned on having kids. My own father was an asshole. Merle had been the only father figure I'd ever had. He had been the one taking care of me, looking out for me, and teaching me. Everyone else in my life had always abandoned me in some way.

I thought back to Sophia. I thought about Carl.

I imagined sitting in the driver seat of the car I was looking in. I would have the Allman Brothers tape in, the one Cheyenne had snagged from my truck. She would be sitting in the passenger seat, singing along to every song as we drove. I'd turn on 'Hot 'Lanta' for her, and she'd turn it up. I'd look in the rearview mirror at our kid. Our kid would be fast asleep in the car seat, safe and sound.

I had to find her. I had to find them.


	10. I Love You

**Chapter Ten: I Love You**

"Cheyenne! Cheyenne, wait!"

I ignored my mother as she called out to me. I continued around to the front of the house.

"Cheyenne Louise, you stop this instant!"

I spun around, immediately causing my mother to stop dead in her tracks.

"What in the _hell_ is going on?!" I shouted angrily, ignoring Riley as he slowly approached.

My mother just stared at me. She looked the same as she had the last time I had seen her. Her light brown hair was still graying softly. She wore it in its usual spiral bun. Her tortoise shell glasses, only necessary when reading, were tucked into her button up shirt. There were a few more noticeable lines on her face, but other than that, she hadn't changed.

"Cheyenne, come inside. It isn't safe to be out here after dark."

If I wasn't pregnant, I probably would have left. However, I knew it was selfish to endanger my life knowing that there was a life inside of me.

"Only for the night. I'm leaving tomorrow morning." I said roughly, walking past my mother.

I heard my mother following close behind me as I went into the house. I went straight upstairs to my old bedroom. When I opened the door, I saw Katie Young sitting on my bed.

"Hi." She said, sounding both shy and surprised.

"…hi." I replied awkwardly.

"Katie, honey, will you go downstairs for a little while? You remember Riley Savage? He's downstairs. Why don't you go and keep him company?" My mother suggested sweetly from behind me.

"Okay." Katie said, nodding her head.

Katie slithered past my mother and I. Once I heard her descend the stairs, I turned around to face my mother. She had already shut the door and had turned around to look at me.

"The last time I saw you…you and Daddy were going upstairs to your bedroom to die." I said solemnly, remembering my parents as they walked up the stairs hand in hand.

"I know, honey. I know." My mother replied, sitting down at my vanity.

"You don't know, actually." I snapped, folding my arms over my chest. "I have been grieving for you and Daddy since the moment I left this house. I have been wishing that you were with me, wishing that I had died with you. Do you know what that's been like for me?"

"Cheyenne, your father and I wanted you to get away from here. We wanted you to have a chance to find a safe place and survive. We knew that with us dragging you down, there was no way you would be able to get very far."

"So you both lied to me? You both pretended that you were going to kill yourselves, but really, you just went to your bedroom and waited for me to leave?"

"Yes. We did what we thought was best. You were never supposed to know that we were still alive."

"Where is Daddy?"

My mother was silent. She looked down at her feet.

"Mama, where is Daddy?" I demanded.

"…your daddy died a month ago, honey. His heart finally…gave out." My mother replied quietly.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to believe my mother. Part of me was convinced that it was just another lie. Then, I remembered the disturbed earth out back. I knew, without having to ask, that it was my father's resting place.

"Who else is here?" I asked, blinking away tears.

"Dr. Haverford is here."

"The oncologist?"

"Yes. He's been here for quite a while. He was a godsend when your father's condition worsened." My mother said, looking back up at me.

"Where are Katie's parents?"

"I don't know. Dr. Haverford found Katie wandering the neighborhood before he came here."

"So it's just the five of us?"

"Yes."

My mother suddenly got up from the vanity. She threw her arms around me, pulling me in close to her. Though I wanted to shove her away and continue being angry with her for lying to me, I couldn't help myself as I hugged her back just as tightly. I had been dreaming of being reunited with my mother for a long time, and I was getting my chance.

"I'm so glad you're safe, honey. I'm so glad you're here." My mother whispered, rubbing my back.

"I love you, Mama. I love you."

"I love you too, Cheyenne."

We hugged for a long time before my mother finally said that she needed to make dinner. While she did, I took a long, overdue shower. I scrubbed myself from head to toe twice before I finally turned off the hot water and forced myself to get out.

I pulled out a pair of pajamas from my dresser. They made me forget what was going on in the world outside of the house.

When I went downstairs, I found Dr. Haverford sitting in the living room by himself.

"Cheyenne, hello. You might not remember me. I'm John Haverford. I moved into the neighborhood about two years before the outbreak." John said, holding out his hand.

"I do remember you." I replied, shaking his hand.

It was quiet between us then. I looked into the dining room. Katie was sitting at the table, preoccupied with her silverware. My mother and Riley were nowhere to be seen.

"Um, Dr. Haverford…I have a question." I murmured quietly, sitting in the armchair adjacent to John.

"Please, call me John." He insisted.

"John, I think that I'm pregnant." I whispered, leaning towards him.

John's eyes widened. He leaned towards me as well.

"Would you…would you be able to examine me? To make sure…"

"Of course, Cheyenne. Of course." John replied quickly.

"I don't want anyone to know until I'm certain."

"I understand. I can perform an exam after dinner. I've been staying in the downstairs guest room. We'll have privacy there."

"Thank you." I breathed, feeling relieved to have a medical doctor in the house.

0o0o0

"Mama? Mama, can I come in?"

"Come in, Cheyenne." My mother replied.

I opened her bedroom door. She was settled in bed. She motioned for me to sit with her.

"There's something I have to tell you, Mama." I said, having a seat on the bed.

"Okay, honey. What is it?" She asked, sitting forward.

"You know the group of people I told you about?"

"Yes. What about them?"

"Well…I…I…I got involved with one of them. His name is Daryl Dixon. He's the man who found me in the woods and brought me back to the original campsite. He saved my life."

"Did something happen to Daryl?"

"No. He's fine."

"Did you become _uninvolved_ with him? I just don't understand why you would have left him to-"

"I'm pregnant." I interrupted quickly, looking up at my mother.

"Cheyenne." My mother breathed, throwing the covers back.

She came to where I sat, and sat beside me. She put one of her arms around me.

"Cheyenne, are you sure?"

"John, Dr. Haverford, just examined me downstairs. He said he's pretty sure…and anyways, I was already pretty sure before he had a look at me."

"Oh, Cheyenne." My mother began to gently rock me.

"I just needed to come home. I thought that I could board the house up, have my baby here, and be okay on my own. I didn't know that you were here. I didn't think anyone would be here."

"I'm so glad you came home, honey."

"Me too, Mama."

"Thank goodness Dr. Haverford is here. He'll be able to deliver the baby."

"He already said he would."

"Oh, Cheyenne. Oh, my baby." My mother murmured, continuing to rock me.

I remained in my mother's embrace for a long time. Finally, I decided that it was time to rest.

"I already told Katie that you would be in to share your bedroom." My mother said as I got up.

"That's okay. I'm just going to sleep on the couch."

"Cheyenne-"

"Mama, before yesterday night, I was sleeping in a tent in the woods. The couch is fine."

"…alright. Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, Mama."

I headed downstairs to the living room. I was surprised to see Riley sitting on the couch. I could tell that he was waiting for me by the way he jumped to his feet when I appeared.

"What are you doing up?" I asked, walking into the living room.

"I came down here to talk to you, but you weren't here. I hoped you'd come back."

"What is it?"

"Do you want to sit down?" Riley asked, motioning to the couch.

I sat down in the armchair.

"What is it, Riley?"

"I wanted to talk to you about some things." Riley said, sitting down on the couch. "I was really glad to see you yesterday. I would have been glad to see anybody, but I was really glad to see you."

"Okay."

"You didn't…you didn't seem very happy to see me. I just wondered why."

"Look, I'm sorry if I'm being kind of standoffish. It's just that, the last time we had a conversation, it didn't really end well. I really liked what we had. We were good friends who had fun on occasion. That worked for me, but you wanted something more. I didn't want to hurt you, so I suggested that we end our…_physical _relationship. You ended up cursing me out on the porch. Don't you remember my daddy coming out, threatening you?"

Riley chuckled, and I couldn't help but laugh at the memory.

"'Nobody is going to talk to my daughter in that way or that tone, Mr. Savage,'" Riley imitated perfectly, "'and anybody who does is going to end up buried in my front yard.'"

"So…you can kind of see why I feel…awkward around you." I said, stifling my laughter.

"Yeah. I understand. I just…I guess I hoped that you had forgiven me for that."

"I totally have. I just don't want to lead you on again."

Riley didn't say anything. He leaned towards me.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for you. I have since freshman year. I'll always love you, even if you never love me."

"There's something you should know."

"What's that?"

"I'm pregnant."

Riley leaned away from me, his expression matching John's from earlier that evening.

"Pregnant? You're pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Cheyenne…what were you thinking?" Riley asked, looking incredibly disbelieving.

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, _what were you thinking? _With this world overrun by zombies who are ready to take a bite out of anyone or anything, why would you have made such a bad decision?"

"Bad decision?" I got up from the armchair. "Look, was it the best decision I've ever made? No. Is it the worst decision I've ever made? No. You know what the worst decision I've ever made is? Agreeing to let you come here with me."

"Cheyenne-"

"Even if this world is crawling with walkers, does that mean we should all stop living? If that's the case, then why don't we go downtown and offer ourselves up as meals? The reason we're holed up in my parents' house is because we all want to _live_. That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm living. I had sex with a man that I love, and I don't regret one second of it."

Riley looked deflated, but I felt invigorated. I had never before said it aloud until that moment, but I knew it was true. I loved Daryl Dixon.

"I'm sleeping on the couch. You can have the upstairs guest bedroom."

"Cheyenne…"

I waited, but Riley stayed silent. After a minute, he got up from the couch, and went upstairs.

0o0o0

After a quick rest in one of the abandoned cars, I walked through the rest of the night and into the morning until I reached downtown Macon. I had my crossbow and shotgun ready, knowing that the downtown area was probably infested with a herd of walkers.

I decided that I would do a quick once around through the downtown area. I'd find Cheyenne just in case she was holed up in a building. If not, I at least would have scoped out the different routes I would have to search if Cheyenne had found her way home.

I walked into each store, bank, and restaurant. I called out for Cheyenne quietly, killing a few walkers in the process. By the time I had finished one block, I still hadn't run into Cheyenne.

Suddenly, a shot was fired to the north of where I was standing.

"Cheyenne." I breathed, concern bubbling in my gut.

I sprinted up the street, following the multiple gunshots as they became louder and louder. They started coming more frequently. I already had an arrow ready as I came upon the site of the gunfire. It was a large, white building with fancy columns. There was a number of walkers approaching it.

Three people were standing on the second story balcony, all three firing guns at the walkers. There were two men, and standing in the middle of them was Cheyenne.

"Cheyenne!" I shouted immediately, both to alert her and to draw the walkers away from the building.

"Daryl?!" Cheyenne cried.

I quickly slung my crossbow over my shoulder and fired my shotgun at a walker that had been deterred by my shouting.

"Come at me you fuckin' geeks!"

I fired my shotgun at another, and then another. Though there were multiple walkers coming at me, I was relieved that they were moving away from Cheyenne and our child.

In the distance, one of the men was running towards me. He looked like he was a little older than me. He was firing his rifle at walkers as he approached. I was afraid his glasses would fall off his face.

"Run up the street that way. I'll cover you." I said, loud enough to be heard over the gunfire.

The man ran up the street, and walkers pursued him. I picked them off one by one. Soon enough, all of the walkers had fallen.

"Daryl!"

I immediately looked to the white building. Cheyenne was no longer on the second story balcony. Fearing that walkers had infiltrated the building, I took off running towards it.

Halfway across the lawn, Cheyenne ran out of the building towards me. Neither of us slowed our pace as we met each other midway. She threw her arms around my neck as I lifted her off of the ground, holding her tightly to me in a way I hadn't done before.

"Daryl. Oh, god, Daryl." Cheyenne murmured, rubbing her face against my neck. "How did you find me?"

"Cheyenne." I breathed, reluctantly loosening my grip on her.

We released each other. I moved my hand to her face, sweeping back loose strands of hair from her ponytail.

"I knew you would want to come home to Macon. I heard the gunshot-"

"Riley." Cheyenne shook her head with a frown. "I told him not to use the gun. I told him it would only draw walkers, but…"

Cheyenne's face changed. She suddenly bent at the waist, one of her hands covering her lower abdomen.

"Cheyenne?" I asked her worriedly, my hands hesitating over her.

"I just have this shooting pain…" Cheyenne replied, slowly standing upright.

"Cheyenne?"

I looked up to see the man from before approaching, his gun secured over his shoulder. He came straight to Cheyenne, his hand ushering hers away. He placed his where hers had been, his other pressed against the small of her back.

"Who the hell are you? Riley?" I asked, two seconds away from blowing his head off.

"My name is John Haverford. I'm a doctor." He explained, appearing to understand my frustration. "Cheyenne, what kind of pain are you experiencing?"

"It was just a shooting pain. It's stopped, but-"

"There's nothing to worry about, Cheyenne." John replied gently, removing his hands. "I think you just experienced round ligament pain. Women in their second trimester often experience it. It isn't serious. It's probably a side effect of all the excitement just now."

"Are you sure?" I asked, taking a step towards him.

"I'm pretty sure. If it would make both of you feel better, I can perform another pelvic exam later."

"I trust you, John." Cheyenne said suddenly, visibly relaxing.

"I do advise that we get back to your mother's. You should take it easy."

"What about the food? The supplies? You and Riley can't bring it back yourselves." Cheyenne argued.

"We'll bring what we can. We can always come back." John assured her.

"Cheyenne…"

I was about to tell her that John was right when I saw Riley coming out of the building. It had been his inability to listen that had caused Cheyenne to be in pain.

I started towards him, raising my shotgun.

"You stupid, son of a bitch." I barked, watching as Riley slowly backed away from the end of my shotgun.

"Daryl, stop." Cheyenne said, her hand suddenly on my shoulder.

"What the hell is going on?" Riley asked, bewildered.

"Why didn't you listen when Cheyenne told you not to use your gun? You all could have wound up as geek meat." I snapped.

"Guys, guys, let's take it down a notch." John said, coming in between Riley and I.

"Daryl, come on." Cheyenne pleaded quietly.

I looked down at her. Her hazel eyes were begging for me to listen. I knew she probably had a lot to ask me, a lot to tell me. I had a lot to tell her.

"If anything happens to my kid because of this, I _will_ put a bullet in your face." I promised, lowering my shotgun.

I put my arm protectively around Cheyenne, leading her away from John and Riley.

0o0o0

Daryl and I walked through the woods together, heading for Live Oak Estates. It was still surreal to have him beside me. I had truly thought I would never see him again when I left camp.

We had been quiet after we left John and Riley downtown. I had been waiting for Daryl to speak, but I finally figured out that he was waiting on me.

"I'm sure you have a lot of question to ask me. Is there anything you want to ask me, or would you rather I just talk?" I asked, looking up at Daryl.

"Why don't you say what you want?"

"Okay." I nodded. "I want to talk about you and me first. It took me some time to understand why you pulled away from me after the attack on Hershel's farm, but I think I understand now. I think you pulled away because you were scared. You were scared of losing me after the close call, and you never wanted to experience that fear again. Am I right?"

"…yes." Daryl answered simply.

"That wasn't fair." I said, stopping in my tracks. "Daryl, I'm pregnant."

"I know."

"No, you don't know. I needed you. _We_ needed you. Do you know how hard it was to rely only on Lori for support? For questions? I thought I was going to have to hide my belly for nine months and go out into the woods to give birth in secrecy."

"Cheyenne, I'm sorry." Daryl replied genuinely. "I'm sorry."

"Tell me why I should trust you."

"What do you mean?"

"In the world we used to live in, things could happen. There were car accidents, break ins, murders…in this world, things are even _more_ likely to happen. We look death in the face every day. You or I could be grabbed by a walker at any second. Why should I trust that the next time you or I comes close to death, you won't shut me out again?"

Daryl closed the distance between us. He brought both of his hands up to my face. His blue eyes looked gentle and caring. I had never seen them reflect those emotions with such passion and sincerity.

"Cheyenne, I love you." Daryl told me seriously. "I have never said those words to anyone before, not even to my own flesh and blood…but, I love you, Cheyenne."

Suddenly, one hand left my face. I felt it over my ever-so-slightly distended belly. I looked down, watching his hand lay still and warm against me.

"When Lori told me that you were pregnant…"

I looked up. Daryl was looking down at his hand, a look of wonder upon his face. When he felt my gaze, his eyes flickered up to meet mine.

"For the rest of my life, I'm going to protect you. Both of you."

"…I know." I replied, my voice lost in my breath.

Daryl removed his hand from my belly, placing it on my face again.

"I love you, Daryl Dixon." I told him as he came closer and closer to my face. "I love you."

0o0o0

My mother was surprised when I returned with Daryl. Daryl was surprised to see my mother alive. After they both got over the initial shock, proper introductions were made.

I forced Daryl into a shower while I laid on the couch, as per John's orders.

"How are you feeling?"

Daryl's voice in my ear startled me. I hadn't realized that I had been dozing until he returned.

"I'm fine. I promise." I assured him, sitting up against the throw pillows.

"Where's your mom? That little girl?" Daryl asked, sitting next to me.

"They're in the kitchen. Mama is making dinner with what little we had left. We'll eat better tomorrow, after the guys gets back with the food from the inn."

"What do you mean?" Daryl asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"What do you…? My mom doesn't have much left right now-"

"No. I understood that." Daryl interrupted, leaning towards me. "Cheyenne, you're not going back with me?"

"You're not staying here?" I asked, leaning towards him as well.

"I thought that you left because I was being an ass. I told you that I won't be one anymore."

"Yes, you're partly right. I also left because two babies in one group is two babies too many. Besides, I just reunited with my mom again. Do you really expect me to leave her?"

"She can come. They can all come…except Riley." Daryl grumbled upon saying Riley's name.

"Daryl, it's safe in this house. The walkers all migrated into the city. This house is boarded up. My mom, Katie, John…they have a way of life here. I can't ask them to leave that." I explained, laying back against the pillows. "You can't ask me to leave here either. It would be selfish of me to go back."

"Cheyenne, nobody feels that way. Everybody was worried sick about you when you turned up missing. Carol was going out of her mind when she found out you were gone _and_ pregnant." Daryl argued.

"Maybe if the group had a stable base I would consider it, but even then, I wouldn't want to leave my mom here. I can't lose her again."

Daryl was quiet. He scooted back against the armrest.

"What?" I asked, wondering what he was thinking.

"A stable base? That's it?"

"Yeah, and-"

"What if I did that? What if I found a place for the group? Would you come then?"

"Daryl-"

"Would you?"

"Yes…as long as my mom came too."

"Then it's settled. I'll go back to the group, tell them you're okay, and then I'll haul ass to find a place for us before the baby is born." Daryl said, slapping the couch cushion.

"It's not that simple, Daryl."

"Cheyenne, listen to me." Daryl said, leaning in again. "This house won't hold up forever. It won't. The fact that it's remained intact for this long is…a miracle. This isn't a fortress. Walkers _will_ tear this house down someday, just like at Hershel's farm."

"So what, you're going to find a…a castle out there for us to live in?" I asked, throwing my arms out.

"I'll build one if I have to." Daryl replied so seriously that my heart melted.

"Alright…what's your plan?" I asked, giving up.

"I'll spend the night here, but tomorrow, I have to get back to the group. I have to make sure that I get to them before they have a chance to move camp. I'll make sure that we find someplace safe to make our home. When we've found it, I'll come for you and your mom and whoever else wants to come…except Riley-"

"Daryl." I chuckled.

"…so what do you say?"

"I say that…I'm going to miss you while you're gone." I replied softly, reaching for him.

"I'll miss you too."

Daryl reached his hand out towards me, catching mine.


	11. Just A Feeling

**Chapter Eleven: Just A Feeling**

"Cheyenne?"

I opened my eyes to see Daryl standing over me. When my eyes fluttered open, he grinned.

"I've never seen you sleep so heavily." He said, slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I've noticed that too." I replied, still slightly drowsy.

"You should go back to sleep after I leave."

"I have to go back into town for the rest of the food and supplies." I said, shaking my head.

"Cheyenne," Daryl said in an authoritative tone, "you need your rest."

"You heard what John said last night. The baby is fine. I'm fine. I just need to remember not to move around as quickly as I used to before. That doesn't mean I need to lie down in bed until I give birth."

"Look, I'm just worried about you." Daryl replied quietly, his face changing. "I'm not going to be here for a little while. I won't be able to look out for you. I want to make sure that you remember to take care of yourself and our kid."

"I will. I promise." I told Daryl gently.

"…maybe going into town will be good for you. If you start to feel tired, make sure that you sit down or at least stop what you're doing for a little while." Daryl frowned. "Don't let Riley go with you. I'd rather you take the little girl."

"Riley said he was sorry." I said, laughing as I sat up.

"He should be. Idiot." Daryl grumbled, his face softening only when he looked at me.

"We're going to be fine. The sooner you find a place, the sooner we'll be together."

Daryl wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. He rested his head on mine as he slowly ran his hand over my messy hair.

"Cheyenne?"

"Hmm?"

"Take care of my kid. I don't even know the little guy or gal yet, but…"

"You love him…or her?" I asked softly, pulling away to look at Daryl's face.

"Yeah." He replied simply.

"Me too."

"I was thinking of Sophia for a girl." Daryl said suddenly, running his fingers along my cheek.

"We had the same thought." I said with a smile.

"What if we have a boy?"

"Then god help us all." I laughed, brushing Daryl's hair out of his eyes.

"Hey." Daryl scoffed, pulling away from me.

"I'm just kidding." I insisted, reaching for him.

"Then you better tell me-"

"Noah!" I exclaimed with a laugh, finally catching Daryl's hand. "I was thinking Noah."

"Noah? Hmm." Daryl wrinkled his brow. "You don't want to name him Daryl Jr.?"

"I don't know if I could handle two of you." I admitted, standing.

"There you go again…" Daryl shook his head.

"So what do you think? Do you like it?"

Daryl encircled me with his arms. He pulled me to him, gently resting his head against me. I felt his lips moving against the fabric of my shirt, and wondered what he was doing. I was about to ask him, but finally realized that he was talking to our child. I smiled, wondering what he was saying.

"I like it." He finally said, still holding me close.

"Good." I replied softly.

We stayed that way for a while, but it didn't seem long enough. All too soon, Daryl was releasing me so that he could collect his things. While he did, I got leftovers from dinner for Daryl to take with him. He refused at first, but conceded as we stood at the back door.

"Take care of yourself, Daryl. Please be careful." I told him, clutching his shirt.

"I will. You do the same. Keep a weapon on you at all times. Stay indoors after dark-"

"I will. I will." I insisted, burying my face into Daryl's chest.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I love you."

Daryl guided my face away from him so that he could kiss me. It was as if he was trying to hold onto me with every fiber of his being. He didn't want to leave me as much as I didn't want him to go.

"I love you both." Daryl murmured, pressing one last kiss on my forehead.

Daryl opened the back door, turning his head to look at me once before he was on his way.

0o0o0

_Four months later…_

It felt more like four years, but after four months, I was finally able to return to Macon for Cheyenne. I was anxious to see Cheyenne and to learn how she had been doing during our time apart.

When I reached Live Oak Estates, I left the SUV by the sign to walk the rest of the way.

I had hoped our group would have been able to find a permanent home sooner. Cheyenne was eight months pregnant. Though she still had another month to go, the last thing any of us needed was for her to go into labor early mid-travel. Lori was ready to pop any day.

As I got closer to the house, I could tell that something was wrong. The house was covered in dry blood that hadn't been there before. The boards on the front door had been busted through. The door itself appeared to be missing.

I readied my shotgun as I approached the house, a terrible feeling seizing me from the inside.

"Cheyenne!" I called out, slinking along the outside towards the back door.

There was no answer.

The back door had been left wide open. I went into the house. It was visibly in disarray. There were dead walkers on the floor. There was dry blood on the walls.

"Cheyenne!" I shouted louder, running down the hall.

The door to the guest bedroom was open. John was dead on the floor. His insides were all over the place. His head had been blown open. Someone had shot him after he had been massacred.

"Shit." I hissed, the terrible feeling growing with each passing second. "Cheyenne!"

I thundered up the stairs, kicking open Cheyenne's bedroom door. There was no sign of Cheyenne, her mother, Katie, or Riley.

I sat down on Cheyenne's bed, my mind and my heart racing. I hadn't found their bodies, and someone had been alive at least long enough to shoot John. If they got out, if they went somewhere, Cheyenne would have left me a clue or a note. If she had time to…

I began a frantic search for a clue as to where Cheyenne would have gone.

Eventually, I took my search downstairs. Upon walking into the living room, I saw it. Cheyenne had been able to leave me a clue.

She had written in dry blood: inn.

Without another thought, I hurried back out to where I had left the car. I thought that I had been flying before, but that was nothing compared to how fast I drove in the direction of downtown Macon.

I had barely turned off the car when I got out of it.

Though I wanted to call out for Cheyenne, I didn't want to risk attracting any walkers that might have been nearby. As I approached the inn, I thought it was a good sign that the front doors were boarded up in the same way that the back door had been.

I moved the boards accordingly, letting myself into the inn.

"Cheyenne?"

I heard movement upstairs, and pointed my shotgun at the stairs.

"Daryl?"

I lowered my shotgun upon hearing her voice, and willed the horrible feeling to go away as she slowly came down the stairs. Though I had been expecting it, I was still surprised to see her rounder belly. I couldn't help the smile that consumed my face.

Cheyenne came straight into my open arms. I breathed in the scent of her light brown hair.

"What happened, Cheyenne?" I asked, holding her close to me.

"Walkers. They got John as he and Riley were coming back from a food run. Riley was able to get John back to the house, but…he was…" Cheyenne's voice trailed off as she pulled away. "More of them came. We held off leaving for as long as we could, but we had no choice."

"You made the right call. Where is everyone?"

"My mom and Katie are upstairs. Riley went out for some supplies." Cheyenne replied, placing her hands on the small of her back.

"I really want to catch up, but we should go." I said, reluctant to end our moment.

"I'll go and get my mom and Katie. Riley should be back soon."

I watched Cheyenne go up the stairs before I went back out to the car. Riley was already outside, standing by the car. He frowned as I got close.

"I thought you were going to be back soon." He said.

"Would you like to find a safe and secure location on this walker crawling planet faster?" I asked.

"If you had come back sooner, we'd still have John."

"Maybe. Maybe not." I shrugged.

"You really don't get it do you, you fuckin' redneck?"

I raised my shotgun, aiming at Riley's head. He pointed his handgun at me in retaliation.

"What's your problem, pretty boy?"

"My problem is that you didn't come back quick enough. Now, we lost our doctor. Who is going to deliver Cheyenne's baby?" Riley snapped, his gun shaking.

"We have our own doctor, genius." I replied smartly.

"Hey!"

I turned my head to look as Cheyenne's mother approached Riley and I. I lowered my shotgun as I turned around to face her.

"Riley Savage, put your gun down this instant." Lily ordered maternally. "You two better knock it off and behave yourselves. We have a baby on the way and an eight-year-old girl with us. I don't need two more children."

"Yes ma'am." Riley mumbled.

"Sorry, Mrs. Adams."

"I'll ride in front with you. I don't want Cheyenne riding in the front seat in her condition."

"Mama, it's fine." Cheyenne said, walking up with Katie in tow.

"No it isn't. If there was a crash, your belly would collide with the dashboard." Lily replied worriedly.

"You worry too much." Cheyenne said, shaking her head.

"I worry enough. I'm a mother." Lily turned to look at me again. "You both will understand that worry very, very soon."

"I think I already do." I said, opening the car door for Cheyenne.

When everyone was in the car, I set off for our new home.

0o0o0

Upon arriving at the prison, introductions were made and I was reunited with my friends. We all sat around in the cell block eating, but I couldn't help but feel like things had changed.

I watched Daryl hold Carl's baby sister, and imagined him holding our own baby soon.

Rick stood in front of the bars gating off our cell block from the rest of the prison. I approached him slowly.

"Rick?"

Rick didn't reply.

"I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Lori. She was a good person. I couldn't have gotten through the first stages of my pregnancy without her." I told him quietly.

Rick nodded without looking at me.

"I wanted to make an offer to you…about your daughter."

"…what is it?"

"I can breastfeed her…once my own baby comes."

"You don't have-"

"I know I don't. I want to." I insisted, moving closer to Rick. "It's dangerous to continue having people going out to look for formula. Anyways, the formula will run out eventually."

"Thank you, Cheyenne." Rick replied, looking down.

"You're welcome, Rick."

I decided to leave him alone. I had probably upset him by bringing up Lori, and I didn't want to continue rubbing salt into an open wound.

I returned to where the rest of the group was. Hershel and my mom were sitting on the steps talking quietly. Carl and Beth were in one of the cells, sitting together on the bottom bunk of a bed. Katie had gravitated to Carol quickly. Riley was with the two inmates, Axel and Oscar, that the group had adopted. Daryl was still holding Carl's sister.

"Practicing?" I asked with a smile, approaching Daryl.

"I need all the practice I can get." Daryl replied, still looking at the baby.

"You're going to be a great father."

"I hope so. I didn't have a great role model." Daryl murmured.

"That doesn't matter. Look at you." I said, motioning to him as he held the baby.

"Do you want to hold her?" Daryl asked suddenly, looking up at me.

"Sure. I guess I need practice too." I replied with a smile.

Daryl carefully placed the baby in my arms. She was warm and light, swaddled in a blanket that had been found on an outing for formula. I held her closer, gently rocking her as Daryl had. She remained asleep, making soft noises as she dreamed.

"She's beautiful." I murmured, watching her face.

"Our kid will be too."

"I don't know. You have a pretty ugly mug there, Daryl." I grinned, looking up at him.

"Well, you're beautiful enough to cancel out my haggard face." Daryl replied sincerely.

I had been expecting him to make a sarcastic or smartass comment in reply to my joke. Daryl was always surprising me with how sweet he could be.

The baby stirred suddenly, burrowing her face into me. I felt her mouth moving against my breast, and guessed that she was hungry. I felt badly that I had nothing to give her at that moment.

"I think she's hungry." I said, turning towards the cells. "Carl?"

In a flash, Carl had prepared a bottle and was taking his sister from me to feed her.

"You're a good big brother." I told him as I handed him the baby.

"I have to be."

I watched Carl carry his sister into the cell he had been sitting in with Beth. I was about to make a comment about how grown up he seemed when I felt hands on either side of my round belly.

"Look at you." Daryl murmured, slowly kneeling down in front of me. "And look at _you_."

"He moves a lot at night. He's been keeping me up for a few weeks now." I said, supporting my back while Daryl gently slid his hands all over my belly.

"He?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just a feeling." I replied with a shrug.

"I don't think so. I think we're going to have two little gals in this group."

"We'll see."

Suddenly, I felt a foot just under my navel. My eyes were on Daryl's face, and I could tell that he felt it too. He immediately covered the area with both of his hands. As I felt the foot again, Daryl pressed his hands a little firmer into my belly.

"Whoa." He breathed, watching his hands.

"I think he likes hearing you."

"Does that hurt you?" Daryl asked, suddenly sounding concerned as he looked up at me.

"No. Not at all." I assured him with a smile.

"That's…amazing." Daryl murmured, looking again at his hands.

"If you think that's amazing, take a look at this thing while I'm naked. You can actually see his foot moving." I said as Daryl slowly stood.

"That sounds a little freakish." He said with a sly grin.

"Hey." I replied, pretending to be insulted.

Daryl was just leaning in to kiss me when suddenly, there were sounds of a struggle just outside of the cell block.

"Stay here." Daryl said, releasing me as he ran to where Rick had closed off the cell block.

I watched as he spoke with Rick, both of them turned towards the outside of the cell block. I wondered what had happened.

"Cheyenne?"

I turned to see my mother standing next to me.

"I don't know what's going on. I'm sure it's nothing." I assured her halfheartedly.

We waited for a few minutes before Daryl came to where we stood.

"Rick found an injured black lady outside of the fence." Daryl said in a hushed tone. "Rick is concerned because she was carrying a shopping basket full of formula and other baby stuff. Glenn and Maggie are on a run for formula."

"What does that mean? Do you think she hurt Glenn and Maggie?" I asked quietly, not wanting to alert Hershel.

"I don't know." Daryl turned when Rick reopened the bars, Hershel hobbling behind him. "I'm going to go find out, though."

"Why don't we sit down, Cheyenne? It's been a little while since you last rested." My mom suggested, putting her arm around me.

"Sure." I replied, keeping my eyes on Daryl.

My mom guided me into an empty cell. It wasn't empty for long. Carol and Katie joined us, each taking turns feeling the child in my womb moving around. I began to nod off as I laid on the bottom bunk, Carol's hand resting on my belly.

"…sleeping?"

I slowly opened my eyes to see Daryl standing in the opening of the cell.

0o0o0

Our group made our way outside. Though practically everyone had volunteered to go to Woodbury, even Cheyenne, Rick had decided that only four of us would be going. Oscar loaded the car while Rick talked with his son in a corner of the prison yard.

"Hopefully we'll be back before dawn. Don't be worried if we aren't." I told Cheyenne, both of my hands resting on her shoulders. "You need to make sure that you get a good night's sleep."

"I will, but only if you promise to be careful." Cheyenne replied.

"I will." I grinned. "Get some food into that belly. It isn't looking round enough for my liking."

"Quit it." Cheyenne chuckled, lightly shoving me.

I leaned over, resting both of my hands on either side of Cheyenne's belly. I imagined holding my own baby, the way I had held Carl's little sister. It wouldn't be long.

"Be good for your mama." I told the baby, gently kissing Cheyenne's belly.

I stood, running a hand through Cheyenne's hair.

"I love you." Cheyenne murmured, wrapping her arms around me.

"I love you too, lady."

I reluctantly let go of Cheyenne, giving her a kiss before I made my way towards the car. En route, I swung past where Carol stood. She was holding the baby in her arms.

"Carol." I said, getting her attention.

"What is it, Daryl?" She asked, looking up at me.

"I want you to look out for Cheyenne while I'm gone." I looked back at where Cheyenne stood with her mother before I looked back at Carol. "Did you get much practice doing C-sections?"

"I was able to…_perform_ on several walkers."

"If Cheyenne were to go into early labor, and something was wrong…like with Lori…can I count on you to…?" I asked quietly, but seriously.

"Yes, Daryl. You can count on me." Carol replied, nodding her head.

"Good."

"Everything will be fine, Daryl. Cheyenne is young and healthy. She'll be able to deliver your son or daughter just fine." Carol assured me with a smile.

"I think so too, but I don't want to lose her."

"I know."

"Thanks, Carol." I said, touching her shoulder as I headed for the car.

"You're welcome, Daryl. Be careful."

Rick, Michonne, Oscar, and I piled into the SUV. As we pulled out of the prison, I looked back at Cheyenne until she had disappeared into the distance.


	12. Mini Chapter and AN

**Mini Chapter**

**Author's Note: **Hello, everyone. So obviously, The Walking Dead is on its midseason break right now. My options are that I can either wait until February to continue writing so that my story coincides with the storyline of the TV show, or I can just branch off on my own and weave my story together with the storyline of the TV show later on. I'd like your feedback so that I can make a decision.

Enjoy.

0o0o0

I watched the SUV drive into the distance before I reentered the prison.

My stomach rumbled appropriately when my mother suggested that we make an early dinner. She and I, with Carol and Katie to keep us company, made a meal big enough to serve everybody. When it was finished, we all sat around in a circle in the middle of the cell block.

I noticed that Riley had been pretty quiet since leaving Macon. He had pretty much stuck to himself, save a conversation he'd had with Axel and Oscar. As we all ate together, he sat alone in one of the cells at the end of the block.

"Where are you going? You haven't finished your dinner yet." My mother asked when I suddenly got up from the circle.

"I'll be back in a minute." I replied, leaving my meal on the floor.

I walked to the end of the block. Riley was laying on the top bunk.

"Hey."

He didn't answer.

"We're all having dinner. Why don't you come out and join us?" I asked, leaning against the bars.

"I'm not hungry." He grumbled.

"You have to be hungry. Food was scarce after we cleaned out the inn and then had to live there. This is the first real meal we've had in months."

I entered the cell, pressing my back to the wall.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you really have to ask?" He muttered.

"Yeah. I mean, I thought we'd kind of come to a truce. We were friendly during our stay at the inn. Why would things change now?"

"You don't get it. I don't know how you don't…but you don't." Riley shook his head.

"Then explain it to me."

"God." Riley suddenly sat up, his head nearly colliding with the ceiling. "Do you have any idea what this has been like for me? Do you have any idea?"

"What do you-"

"I thought you were dead. I thought everybody in our neighborhood was dead. I saw my dad and my little brother being eaten by those undead freaks. I saw my next door neighbors hang themselves on the front porch. I thought everybody was gone." Riley wiped at his face, and I realized he was crying. "I mourned you. I really, truly _grieved _for you. You were the only girl I'd ever loved…and you were gone."

Riley sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"Then…you just wander back into my life. I was so glad to see you. I thought it was a sign. I mean…of all the buildings in downtown Macon…you managed to pick the one that I was holed up in. I thought that was pretty crazy…too crazy to just be a coincidence. I thought that maybe, just maybe, you and I were meant for each other all along."

"Riley-"

Riley startled me by suddenly jumping down from the top bunk. He landed in front of me.

"Come to find out, you're already taken." Riley laughed dryly. "In a world where there are more zombies than people in it, you managed to find somebody else before…"

"Riley, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that me coming back into your life has caused you this much pain. If I could go back, I would have chosen another building."

"Maybe I wouldn't be so mad if the guy you were with was actually a good one."

"What?" I asked angrily, taking a step away from the wall.

"Oh, come on, Cheyenne. Do you really think that Daryl Dixon is a good guy? Do you think for one second that you would have chosen him in the world we used to live in? Do you think that your daddy would have allowed you to date him-"

Riley's words were cut off by the back of my hand across his cheek. The surprise of my blow sent his face flying in the same direction as my hand.

"How dare you. How dare you talk that way about Daryl, after all he's done for me and for all of us. How dare you bring my father into this." I growled.

Riley turned his face towards me again.

"After all he's done? What has he done? He drove you away from the group in the first place, he abandoned us at your parents' house for four months, and he left today to go on a suicide mission…all while you've been pregnant with his child." Riley replied quietly. "If it was my child…"

Riley suddenly laid one hand on my belly, and I reacted immediately. I slapped his hand away, stepping backwards into the bars.

"Get your hands off of me!"

I heard a sound from beside me, and turned to see a handgun pointed at Riley. I looked through the bars and saw that the gun belonged to Carl.

"Get away from her." Carl ordered, sounding much older than he should have.

"Carl, it's okay." I told him, trying to sound soft and gentle.

"Come on out of there, Cheyenne. Your dinner is getting cold." Carl replied without taking his eyes off of Riley.

I nodded, and stepped out of the cell.

"If you don't behave, there's a whole lot of cells that we can lock you up in." Carl told Riley.

"Come on, Carl." I said, reaching for Carl.

Carl put his gun away, and walked with me back to the group. Everyone was staring.


	13. Barricade

**Chapter Twelve: Barricade**

**Author's Note: **Hello, again. I've decided to continue writing. Obviously, my story is going to differ from the storyline of the show. Once the show returns from its break, I'll try to weave the two stories together again. I'm sort of looking to the graphic novels for inspiration.

Thank you to all of you who read and review. I read all of your reviews. And I love you all.

Enjoy.

0o0o0

Our meal was interrupted, after Riley's outburst, by screaming coming from within the prison. Carl went to investigate, and brought back four living people and a dying woman. Carl locked us in the cell block, separating us from the new additions.

Once they had shot their dying member, they took her outside to bury.

"What do we do?" Carol asked, feeding Judith.

"What do you mean? We let them stay." Carl replied.

"We're already stretched thin as it is. Should we really let them stay?"

"What's our other option?" Beth asked, sounding worried. "Are you saying we should kill them?"

"I'm not saying that." Carol said calmly.

"They can live in the cell block that got cleared out for us." Axel suggested, still shoveling food into his mouth.

"I think we should let them stay here. We can keep them locked up until we trust them, but we shouldn't make them leave." I said finally. "I mean…part of me is saying that in order to survive, we have to be greedy, but…what if you guys had been greedy when I came along? I'd be dead in the woods."

"Cheyenne is right." Hershel replied. "I gave your group a chance on my farm, and I don't regret it even after the attack. It was the best thing I could have done for my family."

"I'll make them something to eat." My mother said quietly, standing up.

"I'll help you." I told her, following her to the food.

"You need to rest. You haven't taken a nap today." My mother insisted, turning to face me.

"I'm fine, Mama."

"Cheyenne-"

"Mama, this isn't our house in Macon. This is a prison…a prison surrounded by walkers that want to eat us. All of us." I snapped.

"Cheyenne Louise," my mother replied sternly, "it was your choice to have unprotected sex with Daryl. Getting pregnant was a risk that you took. Now you owe it to that baby to rest when you get a chance to."

"Amen." I heard Riley mumble from behind me.

I marched past my mother, heading out to the prison yard. When I reached the outside, I collapsed against a wall, sinking to the ground.

"Cheyenne?"

I opened my eyes to see Carl standing a few feet away from me.

"What is it, Carl?" I asked.

"Are you okay?" He asked, coming to stand by me.

"Honestly? No. I'm not okay."

Carl sat down next to me. He took off his dad's hat, setting it in his lap.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried…about a lot of things."

"Like what?"

"I'm worried about Daryl. I know why he had to go to Woodbury. I would be crushed if something happened to Glenn and Maggie. I know that Daryl is strong and skilled, and so he needed to go and help bring them back. I still worry about him, though. Whenever he leaves me behind, I still worry that he might not come back." I said, tears rising in my eyes.

"Daryl will come back. You're right. He _is_ strong and he _is_ skilled. He's beaten the odds before. I know he'll do it this time too."

"How do you know?" I asked, looking down at Carl.

"He has two really good reasons to make it back." Carl replied, looking into my eyes.

I smiled, tears falling down my cheeks.

"How'd you get so smart? When did you grow up so fast?" I asked, touching Carl's cheek.

"I had to. That's the world we live in."

"Carl?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you glad that you have Judith? I mean…is she a burden?"

Carl furrowed his brow.

"No way. Judith is the last piece of my mom that I have. I'd do anything for her." Carl told me passionately. "I love my sister."

I wiped my tears away.

"Are you glad to be having a baby?" Carl asked, his brow still furrowed.

"Of course I am. I'm very glad to be having a baby. I always knew that I would be a mother one day, but I just pictured that day being different. I didn't imagine having a baby in an abandoned prison on a planet consumed by walkers. I'm still trying to adjust to that." I replied honestly.

"Cheyenne, I'll protect you." Carl said, suddenly getting on his knees and facing me. "I'll keep you safe when Daryl isn't around. I'll keep your baby safe the way that I keep Judith safe."

Carl didn't look like a little boy anymore. He looked like a young man. There was a seriousness in his eyes that only older, wiser men had. I knew that he truly meant what he said. I knew because I could hear it in the conviction in his voice and see it in his eyes.

I nodded in reply to Carl.

"Let's go inside. It's going to be getting dark soon. You should lay down." Carl said, getting to his feet.

"Okay."

Carl offered his hand to me. I took it, and he gently pulled me to my feet.

"Carl?"

"What?" He asked, looking up at me as we walked hand in hand.

"I think that I'm going to have a son. If I do, I hope that he's just like you." I said, smiling.

0o0o0

I awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of multiple feet shuffling. I could hear many voices talking at once.

"Daryl?"

I slowly got out of the bottom bunk, and went out into the cell block.

The new people were standing at the bars, looking on with anxious expressions. Everyone was crowded around one of the cells.

"Cheyenne, what's going on?" My mother asked from the top bunk.

"Stay there, Mama." I told her, walking to the end of the block.

Carl, who was standing in the huddle outside of the cell, noticed me first. He met me halfway.

"What's going on, Carl?" I asked, trying to keep my composure.

"Glenn and Maggie are back. Hershel is patching Glenn up now." Carl's voice softened. "Merle, Daryl's brother, was in Woodbury. Daryl stayed behind to find him. Michonne brought Glenn and Maggie back, but my dad stayed behind to get Daryl and bring him back."

I felt frozen inside and out. I hadn't realized it until Carl yelled, and reached out for me, but I had swayed. I shook the terrible fear off long enough to lean heavily on the wall, but it quickly returned.

"Carl…" I said through my teeth.

"What do you need Cheyenne?" He asked worriedly, his hand wrapped around my wrist.

"Carol. I need Carol." I told him, trying to breathe normally.

Carl let go of me, dashing down the block to retrieve Carol. While I waited for her, I carefully moved away from the wall and made myself calm down. I breathed in and out like a normal person. I shook out my arms, trying to shake the fear off of me.

"Cheyenne? Cheyenne, what's wrong?" Carol asked frantically, quickly coming to me.

"I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Carol asked, confused.

"I need you to do it. I need you to cut the baby out of me." I told her seriously, watching her face change.

"Cheyenne, what are you-"

"I have to go to Daryl, but I can't do it with this baby inside of me. You need to perform a C-section so that I can go to Woodbury."

"Cheyenne, it doesn't work like that."

"I'll do it myself, then." I snapped, turning away.

"Cheyenne." Carol grabbed my wrists, pulling me to her. "Honey, I know you want to go to Daryl, but you can't. Even if I performed a C-section, you would still need time to recover. It's a major surgery, Cheyenne. Your stitches could rip open, and then you'd be bleeding in the woods."

"What am I supposed to do? Sit here and knit?"

"You have to stay here and be strong for your baby. If you stay here and worry or if you go out there after Daryl, you're risking your life and your baby's life." Carol said gently, squeezing my hands. "Let me go and get an update on what's going on. Go wait with your mother."

Though I wanted to do many other things, I went back to where my mother was waiting for me. I explained what had happened. We both sat together on my bunk, waiting for news of what was going to be done.

"Cheyenne."

I looked up to see Carol standing in the opening to our cell.

"What's going on?" I asked, standing.

"Michonne Axel, and Glenn have volunteered to go back to Woodbury to help Rick and Daryl."

"Glenn can't go back. Isn't he hurt?"

"He had mostly facial wounds. Merle…well, Hershel cleaned Glenn's face and stitched him up. He's going to be fine." Carol assured me.

"I can't let him do that. If something happens to him…" I shook my head.

"Carl wants to go, but he doesn't want to leave you or Judith. I would go, but if you go into labor, I need to be here just in case…"

I left the cell, hurrying to where Glenn and Michonne were collecting their things. Maggie looked like she was on the verge of crying at any moment as she watched.

"Glenn, you can't go." I told him, trying to sound like an authority figure.

"Cheyenne, I have to go. Daryl and Rick need our help." Glenn replied.

"Glenn, please don't go. If something happened to you…please don't go." I begged.

Maggie began to cry from beside Glenn.

"I'll go!"

We all turned towards the outside of the cell block. Tyreese was standing at the bars.

"No, Tyreese." Sasha, his sister, said from beside him.

"I'll go in the kid's place. All I want in return is for your group to allow our people into the cell block." Tyreese said, gripping the bars. "I think we've proven that we aren't a danger to you. Let us out, and I'll go in the kid's stead."

"That might be a good idea." Michonne said quietly. "Glenn is hurt, and might slow me down."

"I'm fine." Glenn insisted, frustrated.

"We have to make a decision. We have to make one now." Carl said.

Everyone was silent.

Carl went to the bars, producing keys from his pocket. He unlocked the gate, letting the new people through. They slowly wandered into the cell block.

"You, come with me." Michonne pointed to Tyreese, then to Glenn. "Glenn, give him your weapons."

Suddenly, Maggie hugged me.

"Thank you for saying something." She whispered in my ear.

"I wasn't going to let your man die so that I could have mine." I whispered back, returning her hug.

By the time Maggie and I let go of each other, Michonne, Axel, and Tyreese had gone.

"I hope you're happy." Sasha said, her voice quivering with tears she was holding back. "If something happens to my brother, that's on you people."

Sasha stormed into an empty cell, Allen and Ben following close behind. I could hear them comforting her quietly as she cried.

"We all need to get some sleep. Everyone go to your bunks. We'll talk in the morning." Hershel said, already hobbling towards the cell he shared with Beth.

Everyone slowly dispersed, tired after a long and trying day.

0o0o0

In the morning, Carol and my mother had breakfast made by the time everyone wandered out of their cells. Allen and Ben joined us, but Sasha remained in her cell. Carol took her a plate of food, but returned to our circle without Sasha.

"Glenn, tell us what happened." Hershel said, all of us wanting to know.

"Merle came out of nowhere at the store Maggie and I stopped at. He pretended to be forgiving, he even dropped his gun, but the redneck had another one in his belt. He fired it at the truck and grabbed Maggie, so I had no choice but to do what he said.

At Woodbury, Maggie and I were put into separate rooms. Merle tried to get me to tell him where the prison was by beating up on my face, but I didn't tell. Then, he released a walker into the room. Luckily, I was able to kill it…but it came pretty close to biting me."

"Then what happened?"

"The Governor tried to get Maggie to tell. He…" Glenn became quiet, and looked down at his food.

"He threatened to rape me." Maggie said simply, also looking at her food.

"Oh my god." My mother gasped, covering her mouth.

"Oh, Maggie." Carol murmured, holding a hand out across the circle as if to touch her.

"When the Governor threatened to shoot Maggie in front of me, I told him where the prison was."

"Shut up, Glenn." Maggie muttered, turning to glare at him. "It was me and you know it."

"She had no choice-"

"Nobody doubts that." Hershel assured Glenn.

"So the Governor knows where the prison is? That means he'll be coming here, or he'll be sending people here." Carl got to his feet. "We need to be ready for that."

"Hold your horses, Carl. What exactly do you think we should do?" Hershel asked.

"We need to get ready. We need to close up all the gates. We need to find a way to block off the open wall of the prison. People need to practice using their weapons."

"We need to conserve ammo in the event of an attack." Glenn argued.

"Fine. Then everyone should practice with their melee weapons."

"Are we sure that Woodbury will even try to attack us? Michonne said that the people there don't wander outside of the walls around their town." Carol said.

"If the Governor was willing to have Merle kill Glenn and Maggie in order to find out where the prison is, I'd say that he intends to take the prison." I replied.

"We need to barricade the open wall of the prison. That's our first priority." Carl said.

"I agree." Glenn nodded.

"Okay. Everyone needs to scatter throughout the prison. Bring chairs, tables, anything that could be used to barricade the blown wall." Hershel said, using his crutches to get up.

"Cheyenne, you stay here. You can take care of Judith while the rest of us gather up stuff." Carl said, motioning to Carol.

"I will." I told him, taking Judith from Carol.

I held Judith all morning while the group barricaded the blown wall. Allen and Ben even helped. Sasha still refused to come out of her cell.

When the afternoon rolled around, the group stopped for a lunch break. Carl fed Judith a bottle while everyone sat around eating their lunch.

Suddenly, there were sounds from outside of the cell block. I turned just in time to see Rick come through the gate. I stood, along with many of the others, as Daryl entered the cell block.

"Daryl!" I cried, running to him.

Daryl dropped his crossbow to the floor as he threw his arms around me. I shed silent tears as we held each other.

Once I was sure he was really there, I released him.

"Cheyenne, I-"

I interrupted whatever Daryl was going to tell me when I smacked him across the face.

"What in the _hell_ were you thinking? How could you stay behind in Woodbury? What if you had been killed? Does your brother mean so much more to you than your child?" I asked him in a flurry.

"I'm all my brother's got, missy."

I stepped sideways to see the source of the voice. An older man with thinning, dark hair had entered the cell block. His face and clothes were dirty. When I saw the bayonet in place of a hand, I knew exactly who the man was.

"Merle?"

"You son of a bitch!"

Glenn flew past me, tackling Merle to the floor. Rick and Daryl acted quickly, pulling a struggling Glenn off of Merle. Merle was laughing on the ground, his lip split open by whatever blow Glenn had landed on his face.

"What is he doing here?!" Maggie cried, wrapping her arms around one of Glenn's from behind.

"We all got out together." Rick said, turning towards the group.

"Where's my brother? Where's Tyreese?" Sasha asked, finally coming out of her cell.

"…we got separated from Michonne and Tyreese."

"I knew it." Sasha said, shaking her head. "I knew you motherfuckers were going to leave him out there to die!"

"Calm down, Sasha." Allen said quietly, walking towards her.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Allen!" Sasha cried, tears streaming down her face. "My brother's all I have. _Had_."

Sasha stomped out of the cell block.

"I'll go. Stay here, Ben." Allen told his son quietly.

Allen followed after Sasha, leaving Ben standing with Riley.

"What happened at Woodbury?" I asked Daryl, trying to bring a sense of calm to the group.

"I was captured by the Governor's men. They put a bag over my head. The next thing I knew, I was in the middle of this arena with my brother." Daryl turned towards Merle, who had gotten up off the floor. "The Governor was going to execute us in front of all of Woodbury, but Andrea-"

"Andrea?" I asked, confused.

"Andrea is alive. Michonne found her just outside of Hershel's farm. They were together until they were taken to Woodbury. Andrea stayed even after Michonne left." Daryl explained. "Anyways, Andrea asked the Governor to give us a stay of execution. In the meantime, Rick, Michonne, Axel, and Tyreese were able to infiltrate Woodbury and get my brother and I out of there."

"Where's Axel? Is he with Michonne and Tyreese?" Carl asked.

"No. He got shot leaving Woodbury." Rick replied.

"So…what now?"

"Merle isn't welcome here." Glenn snapped, pointing a finger in Merle's direction. "If he's allowed to stay here, then Maggie and I will leave."

"You two will do no such thing." Hershel said, hobbling over to his daughter and Glenn.

"Glenn, we need some time to work things out. We have two people missing and a possible retaliation from Woodbury on our hands." Rick said.

"Rick, Maggie almost got raped because of that redneck!" Glenn exclaimed angrily.

"I know. I know, Glenn." Rick said calmly, taking a step towards Glenn.

"Right now we need to finish the barricade. Glenn, Maggie, Hershel, Beth, and Carol, come with me. The rest of you figure out what we're going to do about Michonne and Tyreese." Carl said, motioning for the people he had named to follow him.

Not surprisingly, those people followed. Carl had become one of our leaders.

"Now, we know that we were separated from Michonne and Tyreese when we were leaving Woodbury. That doesn't mean they were captured. They could be on their way here right now." Rick said, creating a circle with Daryl and Merle.

"You could do what you did with me and just…leave them to die." Merle suggested sarcastically.

"Knock it off, Merle. I already told you that we all came back for you, and anyways, Rick risked his ass to save you and I from Woodbury." Daryl replied quickly.

"In the event that the Governor would send his people to attack Woodbury, I want as many people as possible here at the prison. I suggest that we wait until morning to go out and look for Michonne and Tyreese." Rick said.

"Or, we could leave those Negroes to their own devices." Merle said. "Fuck 'em. That black broad tried to kill me out in the woods and ya'll don't even know that other Negro. What's his name? Tyson?"

"You really are a son of a bitch. If it weren't for Michonne risking her life to come here in the first place, your group would have killed Glenn and Maggie. As for Tyreese, he selflessly volunteered to go on a search and rescue mission, a search and rescue mission to save _your_ sorry ass, in place of Glenn." I retorted angrily, approaching the small circle. "They deserve a little more than that."

"Oh, hush up, preggo." Merle replied, waving a hand at me. "Men are talking."

"Back off, Merle." Daryl growled, glaring at his brother.

"Sorry, baby brother. I didn't mean to hush up your preggo, old lady." Merle smirked, holding up his hands in surrender.

"If Michonne and Tyreese aren't back by dawn, we'll head out to look for them." Rick said, ending the discussion.

Judith began crying from inside the cell Carl had left her in. Rick hurried to her side.

"My, my. So this is the vessel you chose for your seed, little brother?" Merle asked, appraising me with his eyes.

"Shut up, Merle." Daryl muttered, turning away from his brother.

"Not so fast, Daryl," Merle caught Daryl's elbow, "we have much to discuss."

"Though you might not think so, this child," I motioned to my belly, "takes precedence over _you_. Go and find a KKK meeting to attend, or better yet, start your own club. _I_ have things to discuss with Daryl."

Merle whistled as Daryl and I headed out of the cell block in the direction of the prison yard.


	14. Revenge

**Chapter Thirteen: Revenge**

"Start talking, Dixon." I said the second we reached the prison yard.

"Cheyenne, I'm sorry. He's my brother. What did you expect me to do?" Daryl asked softly.

"Seriously? That's it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and folding my arms over my chest.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say that you realize how foolish you were by staying behind in Woodbury. I want you to promise me that you won't make dumb decisions like that ever again. I want you to acknowledge that your child means more to you than your brother."

"Cheyenne, of course the kid matters more to me than Merle." Daryl assured me, resting his hands on my shoulders. "I get why you're upset. Can you understand why I wanted to try and get my brother out of Woodbury, though? You were pretty quick to stay with your mom in Macon."

"I feel like those are two different situations, but I'm willing to accept your apology anyways." I replied, looking down at my belly.

"How's that kid of mine doing?" Daryl asked with a grin, moving his hands towards my belly.

"Not yet, Daryl." I said, moving his hands away. "I'm not done talking about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Daryl asked, confused.

"Did you really think Merle was going to fit in here? I mean, look at what he did to Glenn and Maggie. Didn't you see how upset they were?"

"They'll get over it. Merle was just doing what he had to." Daryl replied, looking away.

"Doing what he had to?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "What if it had been me in Glenn or Maggie's shoes? Would you be so forgiving if your brother had beaten me about the face, held a gun to my head, or stood by and let another man threaten to rape me?"

"He would have never done those things to you. He knows you're my girl." Daryl snapped.

"Really? He seemed to have a lot of respect for me back there." I retorted, motioning to the prison.

"You were pissing him off is all." Daryl's features softened. "Come on, Cheyenne…"

"Come on, what? Do you seriously want me to be okay with the fact that your brother, who has been nothing but rude and horrible to the people in this group, is here? I'm not okay with it."

"He's my brother, Cheyenne. He was more of a father to me than my old man was." Daryl insisted, becoming angry again.

"Really? I remember the stories you told me. It sounds like Merle was _exactly_ like your dad."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Daryl shouted angrily, taking a step towards me.

"Back the hell off of her!"

I turned just in time to see Riley rushing towards Daryl and I. Before I could react, Riley had tackled Daryl to the ground. They struggled with one another, rolling all over the ground.

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" I shouted at them, unsure of how to break them apart.

Daryl rolled on top of Riley, punching him in the face. Riley hit Daryl back, trying to get out from underneath him.

"Break it up, guys!"

Glenn and Maggie suddenly ran into the picture. They managed to break Riley and Daryl apart, though Daryl wasn't struggling as much as Riley was.

As I watched, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my breastbone. I lifted a hand to it, trying to rub the pain away. It was only becoming more and more intense as the seconds ticked by.

"Hey, Cheyenne, are you okay?" Glenn asked suddenly, looking at me.

"Y-Yeah…I'm fine…" I replied softly, continuing to rub my chest.

"Cheyenne?" Daryl spoke up, sounding worried.

"I…I feel kind of woozy…" I admitted, feeling my vision start to shake like it had when I found out that Daryl had remained in Woodbury.

"Just relax, Cheyenne." Maggie murmured, coming towards me.

"Cheyenne? Cheyenne, are you alright?" Daryl asked at the same time, his worry increasing.

"I…think I need to…lie down…" I whispered, wondering if anyone could have even heard me.

I began to fall, but felt myself falling into something soft and warm.

"Cheyenne!" Daryl shouted from above me.

I was aware that I was in his arms, that he had caught me, right before I passed out.

0o0o0

I swung Cheyenne up into my arms without another thought as her eyes fluttered closed. I raced back into the prison, others hot on my trail. I didn't care about them. I only cared about two people in that moment.

I ignored my brother and Rick as they tried to talk to me when I got to the cell block. I gently laid Cheyenne on the bottom bunk she had been using, smoothing her hair off of her face.

"Hershel!" I shouted, getting up and going into the block. "Hershel!"

"I'm coming. I'm coming." Hershel huffed, hobbling quickly into the cell block.

"Where's John's doctor bag? Where'd you put it?" I asked quickly.

"It's in my cell." Hershel replied, going directly into the cell Cheyenne was in.

I quickly gathered up the bag and brought it to Hershel, who was sitting beside Cheyenne. He had his fingers wrapped around her wrist as he gazed at his watch.

"Pull out the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope, please." Hershel said, keeping his eyes on his watch.

I dug through the bag, easily locating both items.

"Cheyenne? Cheyenne?"

I looked up to see Carol holding back Lily.

"Keep her out of here, Carol. Give us some space."

"Go on now. Go on. I'll let you know how she's doing once I've taken a look at her." Hershel told Lily.

I watched as Hershel wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Cheyenne's arm. He put the stethoscope into his ears, placing the bell at the crease in Cheyenne's elbow. He pumped up the cuff, studying the needle as it moved.

"Mhmm. It's just what I thought." Hershel said, pumping up the cuff again.

"What? What is it goddamnit?" I asked impatiently, wanting to shake the old man.

"Calm yourself, Daryl. That's part of Cheyenne's problem." Hershel scolded me, taking the stethoscope out of his ears. "She has moderately high blood pressure. It's common in first time mothers. My wife experienced it with our first child."

"So what does that mean? Is she going to be okay?"

"I think so. Her blood pressure isn't high enough for me to diagnose pre-Eclampsia. If it were, we would be having another conversation entirely. Cheyenne should be just fine as long as she rests when she can, and as long as you and that Savage boy quit acting like fools."

"The baby? Is the baby okay?"

"I'm sure the baby is just fine, but I can check if you'd like."

Hershel placed the stethoscope back into his ears, placing the bell on Cheyenne's belly.

"You can take the cuff off of Cheyenne." Hershel said, moving the bell around.

I did as Hershel told me to, but kept my eyes on the bell.

"Everything is fine." Hershel said, suddenly catching my stare. "Would you like to hear the heartbeat?"

"I…I can do that?" I asked, sounding entranced to my own ears.

"Of course, son." Hershel said, handing me the earpieces.

I fit the earpieces into my ears, and was immediately flooded with the sound of my child's heartbeat. It was fast and strong, like a drum in the background of a rock and roll song. It was amazing. It made me feel the way I'd felt when I'd felt the kid kick.

"I'd better go and tell Lily that Cheyenne is okay." Hershel said.

I put the stethoscope back in John's doctor bag.

"I'll be back in a little while to check on her."

"Thanks, Hershel." I told him gratefully.

0o0o0

When I woke up, my mother was beside me.

"Oh, honey, you're awake." She murmured, kneeling down next to me. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel better." I replied drowsily.

"Good." My mom smiled, stroking my cheek.

"What happened?"

"Hershel said your blood pressure was a little high. He said you need to take it easy. You can't put so much stress on yourself. It isn't good for you or the baby."

"The baby. Mama, is the baby-"

"The baby is fine." My mom assured me before I became frantic.

"Thank goodness." I sighed. "I thought I was having a goddamn heart attack."

"Cheyenne Louise, your mouth has gotten bad since you've been away from home." My mom said disapprovingly.

"I know." I agreed.

"Carl was really worried about you. He was pretty upset when you fainted."

"I bet. Why don't you send him in?" I suggested, sitting up.

"I'll go get him. You stay put, young lady." My mom warned, pointing a finger at me.

"Mama, I'm a little old for you to be treating me like that."

"A mother's job is never over." My mom replied simply.

She came back quickly with Carl, who rushed right into the cell to throw his arms around me.

"Hey, Carl. I'm sorry that I upset you." I told him softly, hugging him.

"I'm glad you're okay." He replied, squeezing me.

"Of course I'm okay. I've got you looking out for me." I smiled as I pulled away from him.

"Don't worry. I talked to Riley. I told him that the next time he upsets you, he's going to be exiled to a different cell block." Carl assured me very seriously.

"Thanks for taking care of me."

"Dinner is just about ready. Are you going to come join us, or do you want me to bring you a plate?"

"I think I'd like to join you guys." I said, slowly standing up.

Carl and I walked out of the cell. Carol immediately came to me, throwing her arms around me with a sigh. Glenn and Maggie were also pretty quick to gush over me. All of their concern and care made me feel euphoric and happy.

"Have you guys seen Daryl?" I asked as we sat down to eat.

"He went outside with Merle a little while ago." Carol replied, bringing Judith out of a cell.

I was disappointed that Daryl hadn't been in the cell block when I'd woken, but I was even more disappointed that he was with Merle. I knew right away that Merle was going to be a problem.

0o0o0

"So what do you say, baby brother?" Merle asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"You want me to leave the group?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you surprised? You didn't actually think ole Merle was gonna stick around, did ya?"

"Well, yeah." I replied simply.

"Oh, sweet, baby brother." Merle shook his head. "How have you got along without me?"

"I think I've done pretty well for myself, _big_ _brother_."

"Gettin' smart with me, boy?"

"What about Cheyenne? She's going to be ready to have the baby in a few weeks."

"What about her?" Merle shrugged. "The girl isn't anything special. She's got a great rack, I'll give her that, but that's on a count of that bun in the oven."

"You better watch it, Merle." I warned, pointing a finger at him.

"Oh my, my, my. You're really stuck on that broad ain't ya?" Merle chuckled.

"You don't understand. You've been sticking your diseased dick in any and every whore that gave you a good price since I can remember. How could you possibly understand what I have with Cheyenne?"

"The Daryl I used to know got a lot of action in his day too." Merle countered.

"I never caught an STD or paid for it either."

"Now it's you that better watch it, boy. Ole Merle'll put you in your place."

"I don't want to fight with you. I want you to be here." I told him sincerely.

"It's only a matter of time before the Governor sicks his boys on this place. You wanna be here when that happens?"

"We have a lot of people. We have a pretty solid foundation. I think our chances are good."

"Are you insane, little brother? They're gonna kill all of you sorry assholes."

"Then go." I replied, throwing my arms out.

"Now what kind of brother would I be if I left you behind?" Merle asked with a smile.

"The same brother you've been my whole life."

Suddenly, Merle grabbed me around the neck and had me in a headlock. His bayonet was just inches from my face, so I didn't struggle.

"I don't know where you picked up that smart mouth of yours, but I'm about two second away from cutting it off of your ugly face." Merle threatened, gripping me tighter.

"Boys."

Merle let go of me, and I turned to see Lily in the doorway.

"It's time for dinner."

"Thank you, Mrs. Adams." Merle said sweetly, batting his eyelashes.

Lily rolled her eyes before heading back inside of the prison.

"Just think about what I said, baby brother." Merle said as he walked past me.

I watched him walk into the prison, and began to question whether or not I had made the right decision in deciding to reunite with my brother.

0o0o0

That night, Daryl pulled me into an empty cell. We hadn't spoken after he'd joined us all for dinner, though he tried to.

"Cheyenne, how are you feeling?" Daryl asked, his arms around my waist.

"Better." I said shortly.

"Cheyenne, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I was foolish for staying in Woodbury. I promise that I won't make dumb decisions like that anymore. You and the baby mean a whole hell of a lot more to me than anyone in this world." Daryl murmured, pulling me closer.

"…thank you." I finally replied.

"You really scared me, babe. I thought you were having a miscarriage or…" Daryl shook his head.

"We're both fine. Hershel checked my blood pressure after dinner and said it's gone down significantly. It'll stay that way as long as Riley doesn't wrestle you again."

"What gives with that fuckin' guy?" Daryl asked, helping me to sit down on the bottom bunk.

"Riley and I used to fool around in high school. He was kind of…my first." I admitted.

"Geez. Really?" Daryl asked, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah. It was fun to have a guy friend that I could watch football with and then make out with too. When we were seniors, though, he started to get a little too attached. He ended up admitting that he loved me, so I broke off our…relationship, whatever you want to call it."

"Uh, friends with benefits?" Daryl suggested with a sly grin.

"Daryl, I'm sure you've done way worse."

"I admit nothing." Daryl leaned back against the wall.

"Anyways, I guess Riley still kind of has a thing for me. He's pissed that I'm with you. He went off about what a bad guy you are while you were gone."

"I _am_ a bad guy." Daryl replied, chuckling.

"Yeah right." I rolled my eyes. "I don't really think Riley has a thing for me like he thinks he does."

"What?"

"Riley lost everything. He lost his dad, his brother, his home…I think that he's holding on to something that he thought he could have. I think he thinks that I'm all he has, but that isn't true. I'm sure that he could find another girl somewhere. I mean, I found you."

Daryl gently pulled me back, wrapping his arms around me as I laid my head on his chest.

"Actually, _I_ found _you_." Daryl corrected me, kissing the top of my head.

"You did." I agreed, snuggling into him.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"After I carried you back to camp…I kind of just threw you on the ground."

"What?" I asked, lifting my head to look at him.

"…I was really pissed." He replied sheepishly, trying not to smile.

"You're such a jerk." I shook my head with a laugh.

"I'm a total jerk."

We laid together that way for a long time. Daryl stroked my arm, occasionally placing kisses all over my head.

Suddenly, there were sounds from outside of the cell block.

"Stay here." Daryl said, getting out from underneath me.

I watched Daryl grab his crossbow as he headed out into the cell block, lowering it after a moment. Michonne, Tyreese, and Sasha staggered in.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Daryl asked as I came out of the cell.

"We were forced to hide. Men from Woodbury came into the woods after us." Michonne explained.

"Are any of you hurt?" I asked as others came out of their cells.

"No. Just hungry." Tyreese replied. "Luckily, we ran into Sasha in the woods."

"Well, these selfish assholes weren't going to look for you-"

"They did the right thing. We all could have been captured or killed if too many people came looking for us." Michonne interrupted.

"Michonne's right. You should have stayed here." Tyreese said.

"Like hell." Sasha grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We need to prepare for a possible attack. The Governor sent a lot of men after Tyreese and I. He's surely going to send them here." Michonne said.

"We'll appoint watches. We need to be ready." Rick agreed.

"I'll take first watch." Daryl said, balancing his crossbow over his shoulder.

"I'll come with you." Glenn said.

"Everybody else get some sleep. None of us know when we'll have to be ready." Rick said, looking around at everyone.

"I'll make you guys something to eat before you settle in for the night." Carol told Michonne, Tyreese, and Sasha.

Daryl turned towards me.

"Get some sleep, Cheyenne. When my watch is over, I'll join you."

"Okay. Have a good time." I replied.

"Tell that kid to let you sleep. She'll be bugging us enough when she gets here."

"When _he_ gets here." I corrected him with a smile.

"We'll see." Daryl winked.

0o0o0

In the morning, we were all woken up by Carl and Rick, who had taken watch after Daryl and Glenn. Everyone gathered in the cell block, waiting for what news Carl and Rick had for us.

"Andrea is here. She's in the prison yard." Rick announced.

"Andrea? Here?" Michonne asked, surprised.

"Yes. She says she wants to talk to us about the Governor and what has happened in Woodbury since we escaped."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go out and talk to her." Daryl said from beside me.

"I want you, Merle, Glenn, and Tyreese on different ends of the prison with your weapons ready. I don't think this is an ambush, but we can't be too careful."

"Got it." Daryl replied, already heading off with his crossbow and shotgun.

"Everyone else, come with me." Rick waved for us to follow.

We all followed Rick out to the prison yard. Just as he said, Andrea was waiting for us. She looked different than the last time I had seen her. She looked older somehow.

"Hello, everyone." She said awkwardly.

"What's going on, Andrea?" Carl asked, getting the ball rolling.

"The Governor has been on a rampage since you all escaped with Daryl and Merle. He wanted to send his men here to attack the prison right after he realized that you all had gotten away. I was somehow able to talk him out of it. I told him that you guys would be expecting that." Andrea explained.

"Why did he let you come here?" Rick asked.

"I told him that I planned on tricking you. I promised to lead you on so that you wouldn't be expecting anything."

"How do we know you aren't tricking us now?"

"Really?" Andrea asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't even get me started on my beef with you people."

"What beef could you possibly have with us?"

"How about the fact that you all left me behind on Hershel's farm?" Andrea asked, becoming angry. "I was all on my own out there. If Michonne hadn't come along when she did, I'd be a walker."

"We thought you were dead. Lori and T-Dog said that you were tackled by walkers."

"Well, they were wrong."

"There's nothing we can do about the past. We're sorry that you got left behind."

"Sorry doesn't change the fact…" Andrea shook her head. "Nevermind. I came here to tell you that you need to leave the prison. The Governor _will_ attack, and when he does, he'll beat you."

"I'm not so sure of that." Rick replied confidently.

"The Governor has only one thing on his mind right now: revenge. He won't stop until all of you are dead and this prison is his."

"I think we'll take our chances."

"So be it." Andrea replied with a dry laugh. "Well, I'd better be on my way."

"You aren't staying?" Michonne asked, stepping forward.

"I can't. If I don't go back, the Governor will know that I betrayed him."

"The Governor is going to attack us anyways. What does it matter if he realizes that you aren't on his side anymore?" Rick asked.

"I told you. He has one thing on his mind right now. Somebody has to help the people at Woodbury. There are women and children there who don't deserve the punishment he's been dishing out at random." Andrea replied, turning around. "Good luck to you."

"Andrea…" Michonne reached a hand out, but slowly lowered it as Andrea made her way out of the prison yard.

"Alright, people. I need two volunteers for watch." Rick said, getting back to business.


	15. Shotgun Wedding

**Chapter Fourteen: Shotgun Wedding**

**Author's Note: **Hello, everyone. I'm stalling, but then again I'm not. In the comics, the Governor waits for a few weeks to attack the prison. I don't know if that's how it'll go on the show, but that's kind of where I'm taking it in my story. At least for now.

Enjoy.

At breakfast, Glenn pulled Daryl aside. They whispered for a few minutes. Daryl clapped Glenn on the back at one point, but then their expressions became serious. After a while, Daryl nodded for a few seconds before he was walking away from Glenn. He almost immediately went to Merle, and then they left the cell block.

"Um…guys?" Glenn addressed everyone, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Guys, there's something we want to tell you." Maggie said, grabbing Glenn's hand.

"What's going on?" Carol asked, suddenly making a face. "Are you…pregnant?"

"No, no, no." Maggie replied, furiously waving her hands.

"Last night…I asked Maggie to marry me. She said yes." Glenn announced, turning to smile at Maggie.

"Oh my god. Congratulations!" Carol cried, jumping to her feet to hug Glenn and Maggie.

"Congratulations." I smiled, approaching the couple as Carol released them.

I hugged Glenn, and then Maggie.

"How are you guys going to do it? How are you going to get married?" Carl asked.

"I am actually an ordained minister." Hershel replied, hobbling forward. "I have agreed to marry Glenn and Maggie."

"How wonderful!" Carol clapped her hands together.

"When is this going to take place?" I asked.

"…right now, actually." Glenn replied shyly.

"Oh goodness." Carol said.

"I'm back!"

Beth suddenly burst into the room. She was carrying a bouquet of wildflowers.

"I picked these for you." Beth said, handing the flowers to her sister. "A bride needs a bouquet."

"Thank you, Beth." Maggie replied softly, hugging her sister.

"Rick, let us make a quick run into town. We have to get Maggie a dress and-"

Rick cut me off.

"I'm sorry, Cheyenne. We can't afford to venture out, not when the Governor and his men could attack us at any time." Rick replied solemnly.

"It's really okay, Cheyenne. I don't need a dress." Maggie turned towards Glenn, reaching for his hand. "All I need is Glenn."

Glenn and Maggie kissed sweetly, and we all smiled.

"Alright, are you both ready?" Hershel asked.

"We're ready." Maggie replied.

"Gather around everybody."

We all formed a circle around Glenn and Maggie. Even Michonne, Tyreese, and the others who hadn't been with us from the beginning seemed enthusiastic about the sudden wedding. It was something normal that was occurring. It was something special.

I turned towards the door leading out to the prison yard, wondering why Daryl wasn't taking part in the wedding.

0o0o0

To celebrate the wedding, Carol, my mother, Beth, Michonne, and even Sasha prepared a slightly larger meal than usual for everyone to share. While they cooked, I went out to the prison yard.

Daryl was standing by the fence. Merle was nowhere in sight.

"Daryl?"

He turned to look at me as I approached.

"What are you doing out here? Where's Merle?" I asked, standing beside him.

"He's walking around the prison…keeping an eye on things." Daryl replied simply.

"Well, why are you guys out here? Didn't Glenn tell you about the wedding?"

"Yeah. He did." Daryl nodded.

"…so?" I pressed, elbowing Daryl in the ribs.

Daryl looked down at me with a frown.

"He didn't want Merle in there." He finally said quietly. "I knew Merle wouldn't have listened if I had told him to just get out, so I just told him we were taking watch together."

"I'm sorry, Daryl." I replied with a sad smile, rubbing his arm. "I'm sure Glenn and Maggie were disappointed that you weren't there."

"…you were right…about Merle."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I shouldn't have brought him here. He doesn't belong in our group anymore. He never really did. _I _never really did."

"Stop it." I said, grabbing his shoulders. I turned him to face me, though his gaze lingered in the distance. "You and your brother are not the same person. You share the same blood. That's it. That doesn't make you the same kind of man that he is."

I released Daryl's shoulders only so that I could grasp his chin, forcing him to make eye contact with me.

"Merle Dixon is heartless. He doesn't give a damn about anybody or anything except himself. He lives up to every stereotype that could be placed upon a man from the south. I think he wears those labels with pride. He wears his racism on his sleeve and proudly displays the badge of a male chauvinist.

_Daryl_ Dixon can be hot-tempered, stubborn, and rude…but he is a good man. He searched harder and longer for Sophia than anybody else in the group. He saved Carol from Hershel's farm. Hell…he carried an unconscious woman back to camp even though she cost him a deer."

Daryl chuckled, and I immediately smiled.

"If it weren't for you, who knows where this group would be? Who knows how many of us would even be left? You belong here, Daryl Dixon."

Daryl opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of someone clapping their hands a few feet away from where we stood. Both of us turned simultaneously to see Merle grinning at us.

"My, my, my. That was one beautiful speech, preggo." Merle said, ending his applause.

"Beautiful? Maybe not. True? Definitely." I replied, shrugging.

"Oh, no. It was beautiful. 'Daryl Dixon can be an asshole…but he is a _good man_.'" Merle imitated my voice as best as he could, sighing dramatically when he was finished.

"Shut up, Merle." Daryl muttered.

"A good man, huh? You think my baby brother is a good man?" Merle asked, taking a few steps towards us. "Did my sweet, little brother ever tell you about the time he fucked the seventeen year old waitress in the bathroom where she worked?"

"Shut up, Merle!" Daryl shouted, turning towards his brother.

"She was a pretty thing. She had tits the size of melons." Merle used his hands to show me just how huge the waitress' 'tits' were. "Daryl told me they were so big she kept accidentally turning the water on when he bent her over the sink."

"I said, shut up-"

I gripped Daryl's arm, keeping him from moving.

"Having sex with someone doesn't make you a bad person." I replied, refusing to let Merle Dixon get the best of me.

"Does a good man knock up the first girl he gets a chance to stick and then leave her?" Merle asked, pointing a finger at me. "'Cause that's exactly what he's gonna do to you, missy."

Daryl lunged forward, but I pulled back on his arm. He faltered, tripping backward against the opposing forces.

"He isn't worth it, Daryl. He wants you to go at him." I murmured for only Daryl's ears, wrapping my other arm around him. "Let's go back inside. Today is about Glenn and Maggie."

Daryl was still frowning, his eyes still hateful upon his brother, but he nodded once. I walked behind Daryl, making sure that he headed into the prison instead of turning around to go after Merle again. Especially when Merle started making kissing noises from behind us.

Inside, everyone was sitting in a big circle having dinner.

"Hey, guys. Have a seat. We're swapping stories." Glenn waved his arm for us to join the circle.

"Go and sit down. I'll get our plates." I told Daryl quietly, giving him a little push.

Daryl sat down in between Carol and Carl.

"What kind of stories are we telling?" I asked as I made two plates of food.

"We _were_ telling first date stories, but it got a little X-rated thanks to Tyreese." Allen said with a laugh.

"What can I say? She was a freak with that hot wing sauce-"

"Alright, alright. I'm sure Rick doesn't want Carl to hear all about that." Carol scolded with a smile.

"Maybe I'm old fashioned, but in my day we got flowers for our dates." Rick said, chuckling.

"Jimmy got me flowers once." Beth piped up.

"When was this?" Hershel asked, raising an eyebrow as the rest of us laughed.

I sat down where Daryl had made room for me.

"So, I guess it's my turn then?" Carol asked, covering her mouth as she chewed. "It's not that great of a story…I mean, it's a good story, but it was a horrible date."

"Was it Ed?" I asked.

"Lord no, honey." Carol replied, giving me a strange smile. "The first date I ever went on was with Mark Mueller, the biggest stud in school. He asked me to the drive in, so of course I said yes. Well, he didn't want to shell out money for a second ticket, so he had this big plan to hide me in the trunk of his car. He promised to let me out once he parked the car. Well the idiot lost the key to the trunk, so he couldn't let me out!"

Everyone was howling. Even Daryl was chuckling next to me.

"So then he had to take the car to a shop to have me let out of the trunk. Then, the punk had the nerve to ask me pay for half of his movie ticket. Needless to say…we went out two or three more times."

"Carol!" I laughed loudly.

"Two or three more times, Carol?" Michonne asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't want the conversation to get all X-rated again-"

"Okay, Daryl. It's your turn." Glenn interrupted.

"I really don't have a first date story." Daryl admitted, seeming kind of embarrassed.

"Come on, a handsome guy like you?"

Everybody gave Glenn a strange look, and he immediately back pedaled.

"What? I mean…he's a good looking guy…right, Rick?"

"Don't look at me." Rick replied, throwing his hands up as he laughed.

"Help me out here, man." Glenn begged, looking at Daryl.

"My first date…hmm…" Daryl rubbed his chin, then turned to look at me. "Oh…I remember now."

"You do?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"Yeah. My first date was pretty messed up too, Carol." Daryl looked over at Carol and chuckled. "We went to this _underground _place."

"Like an indie place? A place not a lot of people knew about?" Glenn asked, confused.

"You could say that." Daryl nodded. "So me and this girl had dinner with a whole bunch of people. Then everyone broke out the wine. I had me some whiskey…shared it with this girl. She was kind of a snob about it though. It wasn't the brand she liked."

I turned to look at Daryl again, slowly beginning to realize what 'date' he was describing.

"So anyways, she ended up drinking a little too much." Daryl suddenly became very animated. "I had to take her to her room because she was stumbling all over the place. When we got to her room, she threw herself at me. It was pretty desperate."

I scoffed, shaking my head as everyone began to laugh.

"Is this going in that X-rated direction?" Rick asked.

"No. This girl ended up passing out on me before we could even get anywhere." Daryl replied, grinning down at me.

"You're such a jerk." I laughed, pushing food around on my plate.

We spent the rest of our meal talking and laughing. It was one of the best nights our group had in quite a while. I was glad to see everyone in such good spirits.

When dinner was finished, everyone shuffled off in different directions.

I went to the cell I had been sharing with Daryl. I sat down on the bottom bunk, rubbing my belly as I situated myself. Daryl walked into the cell soon after I did, kneeling down in front of me.

"Are you having any pains yet?" He asked, covering my hands.

"Not yet." I replied, looking up to meet Daryl's eyes. "Noah will come when he's ready to come."

"Have you been walking like your mama suggested?"

"I walk when I can. It can get pretty tiring after a while." I admitted, leaning back.

"Understandable."

Daryl got up off the floor and sat down next to me. He placed one hand on my back and ran it up and down the length of my spine. It felt wonderful.

"Why are you feeling so anxious about it? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No…not really." Daryl sighed, his hand moving slower on my back. "I just hope the baby gets here before there is any kind of attack. I don't know how you would be able to move around safely if you were still pregnant, or worse…"

"Don't worry, Daryl." I told him softly, reaching out to touch his face. "There's nothing that we can do to control what happens. We just have to stick together. That's all that we _can_ do."

"I know." Daryl replied with another sigh. He turned to look at me with a smile. "Two against the world?"

"Three, actually." I corrected him with a mirroring smile.

Daryl removed his hand from my back, but only to rest it on the back of my neck. He leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sound of his quiet breathing.

"I love you, Cheyenne." He murmured.

"I love you too, Daryl."

"Will you…will you do something for me?" He asked seriously, causing me to open my eyes.

"What is it?"

0o0o0

Daryl and I stood outside in the prison yard. He held his crossbow while I held onto his shotgun. He stood on one side of the yard while I stood on the other.

"Cheyenne?"

I turned to see Hershel making his way out to the prison yard. I went to him, lowering my shotgun.

"Thank you for coming, Hershel." I said, standing with him by the door.

"Cheyenne, I want to ask you something." Hershel said quietly, looking in Daryl's direction. "Are you doing this because of your pregnancy?"

"No, Hershel."

"Are you sure? If you are, then I suggest you think this over. Nobody in this group, my family included, have cast any judgment upon you. I assure you."

"I know. I promise that I'm doing this for the right reason."

"Alright. Then I'll do this for you." Hershel nodded, hobbling out into the yard.

Daryl approached us, crossbow still in hand.

"I'll take the right. You take the left." Daryl said, turning his back to me accordingly.

I pressed my back against Daryl's, my shotgun ready just in case I saw anything.

"We are gathered here in the presence of God to join this man and this woman in the sacrament of marriage. They bring their gifts and talents, their unique personalities and spirits, which God will unite into one being as they build their life together. We give thanks to the Lord for creating this union of hearts, built on friendship, love, and respect.

Hand in hand you enter marriage. Hand in hand you step out in faith. The hand you freely give to each other is both the strongest and most tender part of your body. In the years ahead you will need both strength and tenderness. Be firm in your commitment…don't let your grip become weak.

Daryl, do you take Cheyenne to be your wife?"

"Hell yes." Daryl answered meaningfully. "I mean…yeah I do."

Hershel sighed, and I stifled a smile.

"Cheyenne, do you take Hershel to be your husband?"

"I do." I answered softly, keeping my eyes on my surroundings though I wanted to look back at Daryl.

"Repeat after me: I love you as I love no other…"

"I love you, Cheyenne Adams, as I love no other…"

"I love you, Daryl Dixon, as I love no other…"

"…All that I am I share with you…"

"…All that I am I share with you…"

"…I take you to be my wife…"

"…I take you to be my husband…"

"…through sickness and health, through plenty and want, through joy and sorrow…"

"…through sickness and health, through plenty and want, through joy and sorrow…"

"…Now and forever."

"…Now and forever."

"In the eyes of God, I now pronounce you man and wife. Daryl, you may kiss your bride, but do it quickly because you both are still on watch."

I smiled as I turned at the same time as Daryl. His crossbow was already leaned against his shoulder. With his free hand, he brought it up to my face. I lowered my shotgun as I leaned up to meet Daryl's lips with mine.

I was no longer Cheyenne Adams, just the mother of Daryl's child. I was Cheyenne Dixon, Daryl's wife.

0o0o0

The next morning, it was hard to keep the smile off of my face. I was giddy with happiness over having married Daryl the night before. Though we had decided to keep our marriage secret for several reasons, I wanted to run through the prison shouting it for everyone to hear.

I helped Maggie make breakfast for everyone.

"What's that you're humming?" Maggie asked, turning to look at me curiously.

"Am I humming?" I asked, stopping what I was doing to look at her.

"What's with you today?" Maggie asked with a laugh.

"I guess yesterday was just a good day, what with the wedding and our fun dinner conversation." I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"I suppose I should be humming about last night…" Maggie said casually, but with a wicked grin on her face.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, chuckling.

"What is this?"

Maggie and I looked up simultaneously to see Merle in front of us.

"What do you mean? It's breakfast." Maggie replied coldly.

"I can see that, sweetheart." Merle said, looking amused by Maggie's tone. "What I meant was, why are you making such a small meal?"

"We make this amount of food every morning." I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Not last night…and ole Merle got left outta that." Merle replied, feigning hurt feelings.

"That's because you weren't invited." Maggie snapped.

"Why you gotta bust my balls, sweetheart?" Merle asked, throwing his arms out.

In a flash, Maggie had thrown the jug of water at Merle. It splashed all over him.

"I'm not your sweetheart."

Merle chuckled darkly, wiping the water off his face with his only hand. He stood there for a minute, continuing to chuckle. Then suddenly, he used his hand to shove Maggie back against the wall.

"Maggie!" I cried instinctively, grabbing her arm to keep her from sliding down the wall.

"Hey!"

Glenn ran up to grab Merle from behind, but Rick held him back. Carl had his gun pointed at Merle from a distance. Daryl also had his crossbow ready, creeping closer towards Merle.

I continued to hold Maggie's arm, but turned to face Merle.

"You need to go." I told him, trying to sound authoritative.

Merle laughed loudly.

"I need to go?" Merle asked, still laughing. "Are you gonna escort me out, sugar tits?"

"Merle!" Daryl shouted angrily, still aiming his crossbow at Merle.

Merle slowly turned around to face his brother.

"She's right. You need to go." Daryl said, narrowing his eyes.

"You sure have gone soft, baby brother. You gonna let your preggo bitch call the shots?"

"The next time you disrespect my wife, I'll put an arrow between your eyes." Daryl snarled.

I looked at Daryl, who had just blown our secret. His eyes were on Merle. I looked at my mother, who was standing with Carol out of the way of the confrontation. She was looking at me, a look of both confusion and hurt on her face.

"Wife? What are you talkin' about, little brother?" Merle asked, sounding heavily amused.

"Hershel married us last night, big brother." Daryl replied. "See, I'm not the kind of man you think I am. I'm not the man I used to be. I've changed."

"You're goddamn right you've changed." Merle agreed, his tone bordering on hostile. "You're a goddamn pansy, Daryl…or should I call you Darylina?"

"You can call me whatever you want, Merle. I still want you to go."

Then there was silence. My eyes flickered from Daryl to the back of Merle's head. I was anxious, wondering what was going to happen. I was sure that there was going to be bloodshed, but then Merle visibly relaxed.

"Alright. I'll go, baby brother." Merle replied, turning around to face Maggie and I. "Enjoy your breakfast, _ladies_."

With one shove, Merle overturned the table we had been preparing breakfast on. It fell over with a crash as Merle casually walked towards the exit. He turned in the doorway.

"You're gonna regret this, little brother." He said, pointing at Daryl.

With that, Merle was gone with the slam of the door.

Daryl lowered his crossbow and came to me, his hand on my face.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly, his blue eyes wandering over my face.

"I'm fine." I replied, covering his hand with my own.

"I'm sorry." Daryl suddenly enveloped me in a hug. "I should have asked him to go sooner. I'm sorry, baby."

"It's okay, Daryl. It's alright." I assured him, holding him close to me.

I wanted to make our hug last forever, not only because Daryl's arms were my favorite place to be. I knew that I was going to owe my mother an explanation, and I wasn't looking forward to it.


	16. Noah Greene Dixon

**Chapter Fifteen: Noah Greene Dixon**

"I need to talk to you."

I cringed as I stood on my tiptoes to see over Daryl's shoulder. My mother was standing behind us, her arms folded over her chest. Her eyes were narrowed in my direction.

"_Now_."

I nodded before I lowered myself. Daryl made a face at me.

"Should…I come too?" He asked quietly.

"You don't have to." I replied, letting go of him.

"Both of you get outside, now." My mother demanded, her tone becoming harder and harder.

"I guess I'm coming with you." Daryl murmured as we headed for the exit.

I reached for Daryl's hand as we walked out to the prison yard. I felt like we were marching to our death in front of a firing squad.

When we were outside, we turned to face my mother.

"What is this about Hershel marrying you two last night?"

"Mama, I'm sorry-"

"Cheyenne Louise, of all the things…" My mother shook her head. "Your daddy and I raised you with morals and values. We certainly brought you up in a house where we demanded respect from you and anyone you brought into our home."

"I know, Mama…"

"Mrs. Adams," Daryl took a step forward, "your daughter is the best person that I've ever met. She has really opened my eyes-"

"With all due respect, Daryl, I think that I know my daughter better than you do." My mother interrupted harshly. "At least…I used to. The daughter I raised would have never gotten pregnant out of wedlock. She wouldn't have gotten married to a man she barely knew behind her mother's back-"

"Mama, stop!" I shouted. "I wasn't even a virgin when I met Daryl."

"Cheyenne Louise." My mother snapped, her arms falling to her sides.

"Enough, Mama. Enough." I released Daryl's hand to approach my mother. "I'm not a little girl anymore, and if you haven't noticed, this isn't the world I grew up in. You need to stop treating me like I'm still a teenager, and you really need to stop living life as if nothing had changed. Look around. _Everything_ has changed…including the way that we live."

My mother was silent. She could barely look at me.

"Daryl saved my life. If it weren't for him, I'd be dead. That, and what we've been through in the past year, has bonded us together so strongly that I feel like I've known him my whole life. Though the physical time under our belt is minimal, the things that we've been through add up to a lifetime."

"Mrs. Adams, none of us know what's going to happen tomorrow." Daryl said suddenly, coming up behind me. "We could all die tomorrow in an attack or we could all be eaten by walkers."

"I think what Daryl is trying to say is that you can't take any day on the earth as it is now for granted. Daryl and I wanted to get married because we love each other, and we might not see tomorrow. Though the pregnancy wasn't planned, we want this baby."

My mother was still refusing to look at me. She was silent.

"Say something, Mama." I said, fidgeting.

"Your father…would be ashamed of you."

I was in shock as my mother returned inside of the prison, leaving Daryl and I outside.

"Cheyenne?"

I was numb as Daryl gently turned me around to face him. He kept his hands on my arms.

"Cheyenne, look at me." He murmured.

I slowly looked up at Daryl.

"She'll come around, baby. I promise." Daryl assured me, his blue eyes soft.

"I can't believe that she used my dad…" I said slowly, shaking my head.

Daryl pulled me to him, his arms wrapping around me firmly. He held me close, one hand stroking my hair.

I knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to make me feel better, to assure me that my mother would get over it and everything would be fine. It wasn't a problem he could fix. Daryl was doing what he could. He was holding me close, letting me know he was there, and protecting me in the only way he could at that moment.

That was enough for me.

0o0o0

It began at dawn.

I woke up to a sharp and shooting pain in my back. I thought nothing of it at first, and got out of the bottom bunk to walk it off. I was careful not to wake Daryl, who was fast asleep on the top bunk.

I tried to walk off the pain, pacing the cell block quietly. When the pain subsided after ten minutes, I was satisfied enough to return to my cell. Just as I was headed in that direction, I felt a pinch in my lower abdomen. The pinch was accompanied almost immediately by a strange sensation. I looked down, positioning my belly in such a way that I could see my feet better. A clear liquid was collecting in a puddle at my feet.

My water had broken.

I quickly sopped up the liquid with one of my shirts, not wanting anybody to see it when they woke. As I was on the floor mopping up the puddle, the pain in my back started back up again. I breathed in and out slowly, one hand on my back. I waited for the pain to pass before I finished cleaning up the mess.

When the water was cleaned up, I discarded the wet shirt in my cell. Daryl was still sleeping soundly in his bunk. I wanted him to stay that way. I didn't want to wake him until I needed to.

I continued to pace the cell block until people started waking up. I knew that I was going to have to mask my contractions, otherwise it would become apparent that I was in labor.

"Awake already, Cheyenne?" Carol asked, emerging from her cell with Katie in tow.

"Yeah. The kid woke me up." I replied with a half smile.

"Any day now, huh?" Carol smiled.

"Yeah…any day now." I murmured, continuing my walk. "Who has watch this morning?"

"I believe it's your husband and Beth." Carol replied, eyeing me strangely. "Are you okay? You're doing an awful lot of pacing."

"My mom said walking helps bring the baby sooner." I said, stopping.

"She's right. I was active enough with Sophia that she was born one week early."

I smiled as Carol took Katie to the bathroom, but it melted off of my face the second another pain hit. This time, it was sharper. I nearly gasped as it seized me, this time in my lower abdomen as well as my back. I held onto the bars of my cell for support.

"Cheyenne?"

I looked up to see Daryl waking in his bunk. He rubbed his eyes as he looked at me curiously.

"Good morning." I managed to greet him, forcing a smile back onto my face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, quickly getting down.

"Yeah. I almost fell." I laughed quickly, but it caused my belly to throb painfully. "This darn thing has made me clumsy."

"…be more careful." Daryl said, still giving me a strange look.

"I will. Sorry."

"I have watch. Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine." I assured him, releasing the bars as the pain subsided.

Daryl nodded, leaning down to kiss my forehead before he was off.

As everyone else started to come out of their cells, I made my way to Hershel's cell. Beth was already gone, relieving Glenn and Maggie from watch.

"Hershel?"

Hershel looked up, smiling.

"Good morning, Cheyenne. What can I do for you?"

"I'm in labor." I whispered, entering the cell.

Hershel used his crutches to hoist himself off of the bottom bunk.

"Are you sure?"

"It started at dawn. My water broke and everything." I replied.

"Are you experiencing contractions?"

"Every five to seven minutes I would say."

"It sounds like you're in labor, alright." Hershel nodded with a sigh. "Does anyone else know?"

"No. I want to keep it that way as long as possible."

"I think that's best." Hershel agreed. "Keep walking. If the pains start occurring more frequently or if they start happening quicker, let me know. Those are good indications that you're ready to deliver."

"I will." I said with a nod.

"I would hold off on breakfast and any liquids until after you give birth."

"I really don't have the stomach for…" I sucked in air as another pain interrupted me.

"Have a seat." Hershel said, balancing on his crutches as he used one hand to guide me to the bunk bed. "Just breathe deeply until it passes. It will help."

I tried to mimic how pregnant women breathed on TV or in the movies. It did help me to not be so tense while my body was racked with the contraction.

"I think it's over." I said finally, sighing with relief.

"Come out when you're ready." Hershel said, hobbling out of the cell.

I sat on the bed for another minute, rubbing my belly as if to soothe the pains or my child.

When I joined the others in the cell block, Carl rushed up to me.

"How are you doing, Cheyenne?" He asked, his eyes running over my belly.

"I'm doing just fine, Sherriff Carl." I replied with a smile.

"That's good. I was kind of worried after all of the excitement over the past few days."

"There's no need to worry. I feel great." I assured him, warmed by his concern.

"Can I get you breakfast?" Carl asked, his hand on his hip.

"That's okay, honey. I'm not feeling hungry right now."

"You should eat, Cheyenne. For the baby."

"I know, Carl. I'll have a little something later. Okay?"

Carl looked disapproving, but didn't have time to argue as Beth rushed in. She was breathing heavily with a look of horror on her face.

"Walkers! Walkers!" She screamed.

Carl acted immediately, bolting for the prison yard.

I watched as everyone quickly collected their weapons and followed Beth out to the prison yard. My mother came to me, carrying Judith in her arms.

"Take Judith. Stay here." She said, handing Judith to me.

"Mama, you can't go out there." I protested, feeling the beginnings of a contraction.

"Cheyenne, stay here and keep Judith safe."

I watched helplessly as my mother, armed with only a handgun, left the cell block.

As the contraction became stronger, I stumbled to an empty cell. I gently laid Judith down on the bottom bunk, holding onto my belly as I staggered back into the wall. I cried out unintentionally, waking Judith immediately. She began to cry as I moaned in pain, covering my belly with my hands.

"Cheyenne!"

"Shh. Judith, it's okay." I cooed, trying to calm the now screaming baby.

Hershel hobbled to the cell, studying me.

"Are you alright?" He asked, visibly concerned for more than one reason.

"I'm fine." I nodded towards the door. "Please go and see what's going on. It would make me feel a lot better to be in the loop."

"I don't know that I should leave you." Hershel motioned to my belly. "That one sounded strong."

"I'm fine. I'm not going to have this baby in the five minutes you're gone."

Hershel sighed, but he turned towards the cell block.

"I'll be back in a minute."

Hershel hobbled towards the door while I came unglued from the wall as the pain stopped. I turned my attention to comforting Judith, whose cries immediately quieted as I lifted her into my arms.

I rocked Judith gently until she was asleep. I carefully set her down on the bottom bunk, waiting for another contraction to hit.

Suddenly, noises from outside the cell block caught my attention. As I stepped out into the cell block, I was horrified to see four walkers entering through the open gate.

My eyes fell on the shotgun leaned against the opposite wall. As the walkers started for me, I used all of my strength to get to that shotgun. I had to protect Judith and the baby on its way. I had to fight through the pain.

I turned the shotgun on the walkers and immediately began firing. I only needed them immobile or crippled. I didn't need them dead. I took off limbs and torsos, firing all of my rounds into the walkers as they tried to get at me.

I saw that more were coming. I knew I couldn't hold them off myself.

"Hershel!" I screamed, running for the gate.

I slammed against it, using my weight to keep the walkers from entering the cell block.

Judith began screaming, riling the walkers up even more.

"Hershel!"

"Cheyenne!"

I turned my head away from the moaning walkers.

"Carl has the keys! Carl has the keys!" I screamed hoarsely, grunting as I pushed harder on the gate.

With my head still turned, I saw a walker crawling towards me using only its arms. Its legs had been blown off by my shotgun.

I turned back to the gate, meeting the eyes of at least ten walkers as they tried to get through the gate. If they weren't decomposing and without much strength, they would have broken through the gate easily. I was barely keeping them at bay as it was.

A strong contraction pulsed through my abdomen and back. I screamed out, both due to frustration and agony. I knew that my baby was coming. I couldn't give birth in the position I was in. I couldn't have the baby while I was barricading the walkers and fighting off the mangled ones on the floor.

"Hurry! Hurry!" I screamed out, one hand pressed to my belly.

I felt the gate push against me hard, and knew I was losing my stronghold.

"DARYL!" I screamed, falling against the gate in one last attempt to hold the walkers back.

It happened all at once.

A crutch was being intertwined with the bars, keeping it closed. I turned to see Hershel, who was concentrating on locking the gate as he used the wall for support without one of his crutches.

I turned my head to see arrows sticking in the walkers on the floor. My heart skipped a beat as I turned to my other side and saw my husband standing over me. I knew it was safe to collapse into his waiting arms.

Daryl swung me up into his arms, carrying me swiftly away from the gate.

"Where are you going to do this, Doc?" Daryl asked, turning to Hershel.

"Make a bed for her in the center of the block. I won't have much room in those cells." Hershel said, reclaiming his crutch with the gate safely locked.

Without putting me down, Daryl went to a cell and dragged the blankets off of the bottom bunk. He laid them out on the floor in the center of the cell block. When he was satisfied, he gently laid me down on the makeshift bed.

Without a word, Daryl went to collect his arrows from the bodies.

"I'll get pillows. Take off your pants and underwear." Hershel told me quickly, making his way into the first cell he came to.

I shimmied out of my pants easily, but as another pain came, I stopped. I tried not to cry out, not wanting to aggravate the walkers into breaking the gate down.

I looked up and saw Daryl quickly taking out the walkers on the other side of the gate with the arrows he had collected. They fell to the floor, and it became quieter in the prison once again.

"Lift up for me, dear." Hershel said, settling himself down beside me.

I used what strength I had left to lift up as he shoved the pillow under my backside.

"Your underwear, Cheyenne."

Daryl appeared suddenly, knife in hand. He sliced easily through my underwear, pulling them off of me in one swift movement.

"Cheyenne…" Daryl murmured, finally able to pay attention to me.

"You're crowning, Cheyenne. It's time to push." Hershel said, his hands carefully positioned between my legs.

"I feel so weak from…all of that. Can you…pull him out?" I asked tiredly, lifting myself up on my elbows.

"I can't do that, Cheyenne. You have to push him out."

"Come on, Cheyenne. You can do this." Daryl encouraged me gently, pushing my hair behind my ear.

I nodded, and seized the energy left in me to push. The pain started again, stronger than ever before. I cried out as I continued to push, my eyes clenched shut.

"Keep pushing, Cheyenne. Keep pushing." Hershel told me.

"You're doing great." Daryl assured me, his voice helping me to get through it.

I felt my body shaking, and nearly fell back on my head. Daryl's arm wrapped around my shoulders. I leaned into his hold, letting him support me as I pushed.

"I…I can't…" I huffed, breathing heavily.

"The shoulders are out, Cheyenne. The worst is over. Give me one more good push."

"Stay with me, baby." Daryl urged me worriedly.

I looked up at him. His blue eyes sent a calm wave flooding over me. With him by my side, I could do anything.

I gripped Daryl's free hand, pushing harder than I had before. Sooner than I thought, a cry echoed through the cell block.

Hershel chuckled.

"You were right all along, Cheyenne." He looked up at me. "Noah is here."

"Noah…is here…" I repeated slowly, half aware of the smile on my face.

I felt all of my weight fall into Daryl's arm before darkness consumed me.

0o0o0

"Cheyenne?" I leaned into her face, concern gripping me when she didn't respond. I looked up at Hershel. "Hershel?"

"Everything looks great here. She's just exhausted." Hershel assured me, finally lifting my son into sight. "Would you like to cut the cord?"

"M-Me?" I asked.

"Yes, you. I cut all of my children's cords." Hershel said with a laugh.

I gently laid Cheyenne down, trusting Hershel's judgment. I crawled to where Hershel held Noah, whose cries had died down.

"Just cut him loose." Hershel instructed, nodding at the bluish colored cord coming from Noah's stomach.

I lifted my knife back up, hesitantly holding it to the cord.

"Will I hurt him?" I asked warily, looking at Hershel.

"I assure you that you won't."

I nervously severed the cord. When Noah didn't cry, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why don't you take your son while I finish up with Cheyenne? I'll clean him up and take care of clamping that cord in a minute."

I dropped my knife, my arms ready for Noah. I got to really look at him for the first time as Hershel laid him in my arms. His pink skin was covered in blood and white fluid. I quickly eyed his hands and feet, counting his fingers and toes. Perfect.

"…hi." I said simply, bringing my eyes up to Noah's face.

His blue eyes looked up at me. I stifled a gasp when I saw how much he looked like me. His eyes were the same color and shape as mine. His hair was already coming in, brown.

We stared at each other for a long time before his eyes slowly closed. He became heavier in my arms as he fell asleep, exhausted just like his mother.

"Trade?" I asked, finally looking away from my son.

"Yes. Cheyenne is okay to lay in bed." Hershel said, leaning away from her. "Let her sleep for a little while. If she isn't awake in an hour or so, we'll have to wake her to feed the boy."

"Noah Greene Dixon." I murmured, handing Noah to Hershel.

"Excuse me?" Hershel asked, cradling Noah carefully.

"Noah Greene Dixon…that's the name we decided on for a boy." I replied, smiling at Hershel.

"Thank you, Daryl. It's a fine name." Hershel returned my smile.

I looked at my sleeping son, and then at my sleeping wife. A dark thought entered my mind as I remembered the chaos and walkers from before.

"…thank you…for everything. I…I don't know what would have…happened…if…"

I realized that tears had formed in my eyes. Embarrassed, I rubbed them away roughly.

"Everything turned out beautifully, son. Don't fret over what could have happened."

I nodded in agreement.

After a few moments, I gently gathered Cheyenne's body into my arms. I was careful not to jostle her as I carried her to our cell. I laid her down on the bottom bunk, adjusting her head on the pillow.

I was gathering up a new pair of underwear and a pair of sweatpants when I heard Cheyenne stirring behind me. I turned to see her eyes flutter open.

"Welcome back." I smiled, leaning over Cheyenne to look at her face.

"…Noah? Is Noah alright?" Cheyenne asked, still drowsy.

"Noah is perfect. Ten fingers. Ten toes." I assured her. "You can meet him after you rest a little longer."

"…love you…" Cheyenne mumbled, her eyes closing again.

"I love you too, beautiful girl." I whispered, gently kissing Cheyenne's forehead. "I'm so proud of you, Cheyenne…and your daddy would be too."


	17. Mini Chapter 2 and AN

**Mini Chapter**

**Author's Note: **Hello, everyone. I was really racking my brain for ideas to throw into the story. You know what though? Though this is a _Walking Dead_ story, this was also a Daryl/Cheyenne story. They have already found their happy ending, and I don't think I want to ruin that. This is going to be the final chapter before the epilogue. Thank you for reading, everyone. I love you all.

Enjoy.

0o0o0

Daryl woke me after he let me sleep for what felt like quite a while. He held a bundle in his arms as he sat on the edge of the bottom bunk, waiting for me to fully awaken. It didn't take long after I heard the bundle begin to whimper.

"Give him to me." I said softly, holding out my arms.

Daryl gently laid the baby in my arms. I looked down at his face. He was real. Noah was real.

"He's beautiful." I whispered, taking a moment more to stare.

Daryl was quiet. I was about to ask him what he thought when Noah whimpered again. I quickly shoved my shirt and bra aside, hurrying to get my nipple into Noah's mouth. The second his lips made contact with me, he began to suckle.

I watched carefully, making sure that Noah stayed latched on. After a minute, I looked up at Daryl. He was watching Noah breastfeed with a look on his face. It was the same look he'd had on his face when he had put his hand on my stomach after learning that I was pregnant.

"What do you think?" I asked quietly.

"He's perfect, Cheyenne." Daryl replied without taking his eyes off of Noah. "He's…everything that I dreamed he would be."

"Yeah?" I asked, feeling tears in my eyes.

Daryl leaned in close to me, pressing his hand into my face meaningfully.

"Yeah." He murmured sincerely, finally meeting my eyes.

"Daryl…what happened out there?" I asked, suddenly remembering the walkers.

Daryl's face darkened. He pulled his hand away from me.

"Someone opened all of the gates leading into the prison. That same person destroyed the barricade that was built up out back." Daryl muttered angrily. "It was Merle. I know it was that son of a bitch."

"How did that happen? Didn't Maggie or Glenn see what happened?" I asked, confused.

Daryl snorted.

"They were too busy playing hide the eggroll."

"Daryl." I hissed, glaring at him. "That was totally uncalled for."

"Cheyenne, don't you get it?" Daryl asked, giving me a disgusted look. "Those idiots were supposed to be on watch. Because they weren't paying attention, walkers were able to infiltrate the prison."

"It was an accident, Daryl. I'm sure they feel terrible." I replied, trying to calm Daryl down.

"Their guilt doesn't change the fact that their mistake nearly got you killed, and…" Daryl suddenly looked away from me.

"Daryl?" I suddenly became nervous. "Daryl, what happened?"

"We lost someone, Cheyenne." Daryl finally said, still refusing to look at me.

"My mama?" I asked, my voice shrill as tears threatened to overflow.

"No, baby, it wasn't your mama." Daryl reassured me gently, turning to look at me. "Your mama is fine."

"Who was it? Who did we lose?"

"…it was Riley, Cheyenne. Riley is dead." Daryl admitted grimly.

"Riley?" I breathed, his face appearing in my mind.

"Yeah. He got taken down by two walkers. He was…protecting your mama."

"Oh no…Riley…" I covered my mouth, a tear trickling down my cheek. "After all of the horrible things I said to him…oh god…Riley…"

"It's okay, Cheyenne." Daryl said gently, touching my face again. "Me, you, and Riley were all pretty messed up to each other. That's just the way it is. There's no reason for you to feel bad."

I looked down at Noah, who was drifting off to sleep.

"When can I see everyone?" I asked.

"You can see everyone when you've rested. Everybody has already seen the baby. They think he's beautiful too." Daryl smiled.

"Does Judith need to be fed?"

"No. She's had a bottle." Daryl reached out for Noah. "You just lie down and sleep. You can start feeding Judith tomorrow."

"Okay." I replied, leaning down to kiss Noah. "I'll see you later, baby boy."

Daryl took Noah from my arms, cradling his head carefully. He looked nervous, but the happiness on his face overshadowed any nerves he had about being a father. I knew he was going to be just fine.

0o0o0

Everyone was excited to see me when I finally emerged from my cell the next day.

"You're awake!"

Carl rushed towards me, throwing his arms around my waist. I was surprised, but touched by his affection. I wrapped an arm around him, squeezing him to me.

"I'm awake." I assured him, lifting his chin with my free hand. "I told you I was fine."

Carl smiled as he released me.

"Noah is beautiful, Cheyenne." Maggie said, rocking Judith next to Glenn.

"Thank you." I replied with a smile.

"Speaking of Noah, I think somebody wants to see their mommy." Carol said, approaching me with Noah in her arms. "He has his daddy's eyes."

"He does, doesn't he?" I agreed, taking him from Carol.

"You are more handsome than even your daddy, I think." Carol said in a soft, high voice. "Just don't tell him I said that."

"I heard that."

Carol and I looked up to see Daryl walking in, crossbow over his shoulder.

"Uh oh." Carol murmured, sneaking a smile in my direction.

"Looks like I got some competition."

Daryl approached us, leaning over my shoulder to look down at our son. He was glancing all around, but his eyes finally fell on Daryl's face.

"Nah…I'm definitely cuter." Daryl said, kissing my temple.

Carol and I laughed.

"How long has it been since I fed him?" I asked, looking up at Daryl.

"It's been about two hours. Little guy is probably hungry." Daryl ran his thumb carefully over Noah's forehead. "Do you need help feeding him?"

"I think I can handle it. Carol can help if I need any."

"Alright. I just came in to check on you two." Daryl looked back down at Noah. "You be good for your mama, you hear? You came at a very inconvenient time yesterday. I'm willing to let it go, but you better shape up or ship out."

"I think he meant to say 'I love you'." I assured Noah, whose eyes were volleying between Daryl and I as we spoke to him.

Daryl leaned down, running his nose over Noah's. I nearly squealed.

"I love you." He murmured before directing his attention to me.

"I'll be in in a few hours. Take it easy." Daryl said, running his fingers along my cheek.

"I will."

"I love you." Daryl kissed me sweetly before he headed out again.

"Cheyenne…Judith could probably use a feeding too…?" Maggie approached Carol and I slowly.

"Of course." I nodded, motioning to Carol. "Just give her to Carol."

Carol took Judith from Maggie, and together we went into my cell.

I sat down on the bottom bunk, laying Noah down next to me while I stripped off my shirt and bra. With my breasts out, I made sure that Noah was latched on before Carol assisted me in helping Judith to latch. It took her a few minutes to get it, but after she had it, she went to town.

"I feel like a cow." I laughed, trying to keep it to a minimum.

Carol burst out laughing, making it harder for me to contain mine.

"It's a great thing you're doing for Judith." Carol finally said after our laughter died down.

"It's the least I can do." I replied, holding both babies close. "Carol?"

"Hmm?" Carol asked, looking up at me.

"I'm sorry that we drifted apart. Things have just been so hectic. I never meant for our relationship to weaken or for you to think I didn't want anything to do with you. To be honest, I miss our talks."

"That's okay, Cheyenne. It's been a rough year…to say the least." Carol sighed.

"…has my mother said anything? I haven't seen her since before Noah was born yesterday."

"She's okay. She saw the baby, but she said something about not wanting to hold him unless you said it was okay first." Carol replied softly, running her fingers along Noah's arm. "I don't know what anybody else thinks, but I for one am glad that this group has been blessed with these little ones."

"You think they'll date one day?" I asked, smiling.

"I don't know. Maybe." Carol returned my smile.

0o0o0

I finally found my mother walking along the fence outside.

"Mama?"

She stopped, startled by my presence. She looked at me, and I saw right away that she had been crying. There were red rims around her eyes.

"Carol said that you were refusing to hold Noah." I said softly, adjusting the baby in my arms.

"I wasn't refusing, honey. I was waiting for your permission." My mother replied, wiping her nose.

"My permission?"

My mother approached me, her eyes filling with tears again.

"Cheyenne, I am so sorry about the things I said to you." My mother began to cry. "You were right. You aren't a child anymore, Cheyenne. You're a beautiful and strong young woman. Your daddy would…your daddy would be so proud of you if he were here."

"Mama…" I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

"I'm glad that you survived after you left home. I'm glad that you found someone who makes you happy, and that you were blessed with a healthy son." My mother looked down at Noah.

"Do you want to hold him, Grandma?" I asked with a smile.

My mother nodded, immediately taking Noah from my arms.

I watched as my mother held my son. It was something that I never thought I would see when I thought my mom was dead. It warmed my heart to know that though Noah would never know my dad, he would at least know my mother.

0o0o0

That night, Rick held a meeting. After Carol and I had put Katie, Judith, and Noah down to sleep, we joined the others in the middle of the cell block.

"The Governor has yet to attack us…and that worries me." Rick admitted, his hands on his hips. "The walkers getting into the prison the other day…it was a sign. I think it was a sign that this prison isn't the stronghold we thought it was."

"What do you suggest we do?" Hershel asked, standing with his crutches.

"I think that we should go." Rick replied, turning to look at Hershel. "I don't think we're as safe in this prison as we think we are."

"Leave?" Carol asked, her eyes widening.

"We can't just leave. Where are we going to go?" Maggie asked, reaching for Glenn's hand.

"…I don't know." Rick said after a moment. "I have no idea where we should go."

"This prison isn't perfect, but we're better off here than we were over the winter." Daryl said.

"At least we moved during the winter. Here, we're just targets."

"Rick has a good point. I mean, how can the Governor attack us if he doesn't know where we went?" Glenn replied with a nod.

"There's nowhere to go." Allen said.

"Maybe the Governor has the right idea." Carl said suddenly, standing.

"What?" Michonne asked, flabbergasted.

"I mean, he's not a good guy, but he had a good idea. What if we found an abandoned town…far away from here…and we cleaned it out of walkers? What if we created our own safe haven?"

Daryl and I looked at each other, and I knew we were thinking the same thing. Carl had a point. He had a great idea.

"Where should we find this abandoned town?" Allen asked.

"Somewhere not in Georgia. Somewhere the Governor wouldn't be able to find us." Carl replied.

"Like where?"

"I don't know where!" Carl shouted suddenly. "Our safe haven isn't here, though."

"Carl is right. It's our only option." I said.

It was quiet. Everybody was looking around at everyone else, waiting for another option to appear. After a while, everyone's expression said it all: Carl was right. It _was_ our only option.

"We've been through a lot." Rick said, standing next to his son. "We've lost friends. We've lost family. We've struggled to survive through this hell on earth…but we're _still_ _here_. We have come through too much to let some asshole with a god complex take us down."

Glenn was the first to stand. Maggie followed, their hands clasped together.

Daryl stood, pulling me to my feet. My mother was next, smiling up at me.

Slowly, we all stood together as a group.

"Let's do it." Rick said, putting his arm around Carl. "Let's find _our_ safe haven."


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_…so we left the prison._

_ None of us knew where we were going or how long it would take us to find our safe haven, but we were all banded together with the hope that we would find it._

_ Along the way, we lost Allen and Sasha to walkers. We buried them where they were killed, littering their graves with flowers._

_ Our group finally found its safe haven in Scotia, South Carolina. The town had been abandoned. The walkers we found didn't last long there. Together, we walled off Scotia from the rest of the world. We all contributed to the safety, protection, and preservation of our home._

_ There never was a cure found for the walker virus. Over the years, the walkers' bodies deteriorated more and more. The cold, the heat, the daily damage…all proved too much for the walkers. Slowly, but surely, they began to disappear from the world._

_ Oh, there are still walkers out there. There always will be._

_ But seeing one now is like seeing Bigfoot…_

0o0o0

_Twenty years later…_

"Can you believe it?" Maggie asked excitedly, running her fingers through her hair. "I can't believe it. Can you believe it?"

"You know, Maggie…I can't believe it." I replied smartly with a smile.

"Oh, shut up." Maggie rolled her eyes, but returned my smile.

_Glenn and Maggie were the first to christen Scotia with a child. They named their son Otis Hershel, honoring the fallen Otis and Maggie's father. Glenn became the go to guy in Scotia. He could fix anything that was put in front of him. He always gave thanks to Dale for his knowledge. He also gave thanks to his fallen mentor by naming his second son after him._

Maggie and I walked into the chapel together. She went behind the altar, prepping. I walked throughout the pews, looking up at the garlands of flowers hanging from the ceiling.

"Maggie, where are Otis and Dale?" I asked, turning back to Maggie.

"You know those boys. Their father is probably showing them something _really_ important." Maggie replied, glancing up from her Bible. "Is that okay? Should I put the fear of god in them?"

"No." I chuckled. "It's fine. I'm sure they'll show up."

I watched Maggie as she flipped through her Bible. After a while, I heard the church doors open.

"Sorry I'm late, Mama."

I turned my head to see Noah jogging up the aisle. He leaned over and halfheartedly kissed me on the cheek, still trying to catch his breath.

"I knew you would be. I planned for it." I replied, pointing to the ceiling.

"Thanks, Mama." Noah said, giving me a real kiss on the cheek.

"You better go get changed. Everyone will be showing up soon."

"See you later." Noah headed for the back of the church. "See you later, Mag!"

"See you later, Noah Greene." Maggie replied without looking up.

Not long after my truant son went to the back of the church, the doors opened again.

"We're here. We're here."

I stood up and turned around as Carol and her family filtered in.

_Carol took Katie into her home the moment we settled in Scotia. She raised her like she was her own flesh and blood. Carol became Scotia's nurse. Hershel taught her well. She took care of everyone in Scotia, breaking fevers and mending broken bones._

"I thought you were going to wait for me to help you." Carol whined, seeing that the decorations were finished.

"It's fine, Carol." I assured her, giving her a quick hug.

"Grandma, when is there cake?"

I looked down to see Sophia tugging on Carol's dress.

_Katie married Ben, Allen's son. They had a daughter together, and named her Sophia._

"Soon enough, honey. Soon enough." Carol promised, ruffling Sophia's hair.

"Why don't you guys sit down? Everybody else will be arriving shortly." I suggested, motioning to all of the empty pews.

Carol, Ben, Katie, and little Sophia took their seats. Sophia bounced from lap to lap, asking about cake whenever she had the chance.

The doors opened again, and this time it was Beth and her two kids coming in.

_Beth and Carl got married the moment Carl was old enough. Beth had two children, one boy and one girl. They were named Shane and Patricia. Beth became a teacher for the children. She taught them all in the living room of her home. If the kids were lucky, Beth would sing to them._

"They're on their way. They should be here any minute." Beth assured Maggie and I, ushering Shane and Patricia into a pew. "Your husband is bringing Glenn and the boys."

"Good. At least one of our men is responsible." Maggie muttered.

When the doors opened again, I expected to see Daryl and the others. Instead, it was Tyreese and Michonne.

_Tyreese and Michonne married just before they left Scotia in search of possible survivors. They were gone for an entire year, but returned with no one. Tyreese also became a handy man around Scotia, while Michonne offered her superior fighting skills for the protection of our home._

As everyone gathered, I waited anxiously for Daryl and the others.

Finally, Glenn and his sons burst through the doors.

"Honey, I am so sorry that we're late, but the-"

"Save it, Glenn." Maggie interrupted, narrowing her eyes at him. "Sit down."

I turned to see Daryl walking into the church, and smiled.

_Daryl and I settled down nicely in Scotia…_

"Hello, wife." Daryl greeted me, wrapping an arm around me as he kissed my forehead.

"Hello, husband." I replied, smiling up at him.

"Where is he?"

"He's in the back." I motioned to the doors.

"Should I go check on him?"

"I think he'll be okay." I said, pulling on Daryl's hand.

Daryl and I sat down in the front pew. I leaned my head on Daryl's shoulder, sighing.

"Are you alright?" Daryl asked, leaning his head down.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking." I replied quietly.

_Hershel ordained Maggie before he passed away. My mother died not long after. Though they had never married, she and Hershel had lived together comfortably until his passing. After losing two men she loved, my mother went._

Noah emerged from the back of the church. He wore a blue, button down shirt and khaki pants. His messy, brown hair was clean and combed. He had trimmed down his facial hair.

"Our boy cleans up good." Daryl chuckled.

"He sure does." I agreed, smiling at our son.

Maggie met Noah at the front of the altar.

"Okay, Carl. We're ready." Maggie said loud enough for Carl to hear.

We all turned as the doors opened one final time.

_Rick never took up his hat or wore his badge again once we reached Scotia. He passed both onto Carl permanently. Rick served Scotia in any and every way he could until he passed away suddenly not long after Scotia was made safe. Carl became the sheriff, and appointed Daryl as his deputy._

We all turned around to see Carl leading Judith in. She looked beautiful. Her brown hair was pulled up into a bun. She wore a short, red dress. Her shoes matched.

Carl took Judith all the way to the altar. Judith gave him a kiss on the cheek before he released her to Noah, who was beaming at Judith as though she were the greatest prize he could have ever received.

As Maggie began the wedding ceremony, Carl sat down next to me.

"I told you I'd take care of him." Carl whispered to me. "I told you I'd take care of them both."

I smiled as I turned to look at Carl.

"I always knew you would." I replied.

0o0o0

After the wedding and reception, Daryl and I returned to our home. It was quiet without Noah there. He would have Otis and Dale over all the time. Those three boys would cause all kinds of trouble at all hours of the day and night. I would miss them terribly.

"I can't believe it." I murmured, looking out the window.

"What?" Daryl asked, coming up behind me.

"It seems like yesterday I was giving birth to that kid in the middle of a shootout." I slowly turned to face Daryl. "It seems like yesterday you were pulling me out of the bushes and saving me."

"I know what you mean." Daryl agreed.

"Did you ever think that this would be your life?"

"I never had high hopes for myself, but even if I had, nothing I could have ever hoped for would have been better than what I have." Daryl wrapped his arms around me. "Somehow, with all of the shit that went on this world, I managed to find myself a wife and son. I don't know how, but I'm grateful."

"I love you, Daryl Dixon." I murmured.

"I love you too, Mrs. Dixon." Daryl replied, leaning down to kiss me.

"Walker! Walker!"

I whirled around to see that there was a walker in the street.

"I'm on it." Daryl muttered, already heading out the door.

I followed close behind, watching Daryl from the porch. He had his trusty crossbow in hand.

"I found this one just outside of town. Get a load of that one." Carl said, running up.

I saw immediately what Carl was referring to. The walker had the remnants of an eye patch over one of his eyes.

"Is that…?"

"Oh yeah." Daryl said, picking his crossbow up off his shoulder.

The walker turned towards Daryl, reaching out as if to grab him.

"How long's it been since a walker was found close to town?" Daryl asked, still aiming at the walker.

"It's been about five years, Daryl." Carl replied, hand covering his revolver.

"Say goodnight, Governor."

Daryl released the arrow. It flew through the air, piercing the walker through the eye patch. It was thrown backwards from the impact of the arrow, landing on the ground hard enough to send its limbs flying off in different directions.

"Baby, why don't you go and get the kids from the reception?" Daryl asked, turning to look at me with his famous sly grin. "Tell 'em Bigfoot is out here."

THE END


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